Rugby Memoirs

No Irish rugby player has ever achieved more, or been a source of more inspiration to teammates and fans alike, than Johnny Sexton. All of this would have seemed highly unlikely as late as May 2009, when – aged 24 – he was nowhere near first choice at Leinster, and still uncapped by Ireland. In his hotly anticipated autobiography, Johnny will tell the story of his life, and explore the sources of his unmatched will to win.

In My Life and Rugby he tells his story for the first time, including the full inside story of England’s 2019 World Cup campaign. Since taking over as head coach of England in 2015, Eddie Jones has orchestrated a complete revival of the national team. He has won the Six Nations Championship back-to-back, including England’s first Grand Slam in a generation and their first-ever whitewash of Australia in their own backyard, as well as taking them on their longest-ever winning streak, matching the world record held by the All Blacks.

I sometimes wondered if it was meant to be but I kept on smiling and I worked hard as I kept my focus on playing the game that I love, that I owe everything to. And now, a little older and a little wiser – and with over 100 England caps, three Six Nations championships and two Premiership titles to my name, I want to tell you my story. The highs and lows, the good and the bad and everything in between.

Rugby hurts. It demands mental resilience and resistance to pain. It explores character, beyond a capacity to endure punishment. In The Hurt, Dylan Hartley, one of England's most successful captains, tells a story of hard men and harsh truths. This is rugby in the raw, a unique insight into the price of sporting obsession. At the age of 16, Hartley travelled to England, on his own, to build a life and learn the dark arts of front-row play. He won 97 international caps before his retirement, due to a persistent knee condition, in November 2019.

This book is not just about how I got back on my horse and went clippity-clop all the way to the World Cup final in Japan. It's the story of how a fat kid who had to live up to the nickname Psycho grew up to play (and party) for over a decade with rugby's greatest pros. From just about surviving the equivalent of 30 car crashes a game and crooning Adele for team spirit, to extensive field notes on the smell of the Scrum and the fine art of on-pitch relief. Then there's rugby's secret naked wrestling scene and how it was exposed. In my world, you never know how the ball will bounce.

In the definitive memoir of his life and career, Dan Biggar bares his innermost emotions, from the joy of captaining Wales to victory in South Africa, through Grand Slam glory and World Cup woe, to the devastation of losing his mother just weeks before becoming the Lions number 10. He opens the changing room door on some of rugby’s most compelling episodes – from the threatened strike action that could have bankrupted the game, to the proposed club merger that nearly derailed a Grand Slam campaign.

The Extra Mile is no ordinary sports memoir. But Kevin Sinfield is no ordinary sportsman. A one-club legend of Leeds Rhinos, who has now crossed codes as a defence coach for Leicester Tigers, Kevin Sinfield is a rugby icon. But in recent years has shown heroism of a very different kind through his selfless and extraordinary fundraising for Motor neurone disease (MND), the terminal illness that has affected his best mate and former teammate Rob Burrow.

One of rugby’s most ferocious flankers and biggest characters, James Haskell has had an extraordinary, global experience of the game, having played for the Lions, Wasps, England and in New Zealand, France and Japan . After 17 years and with 77 international caps under his sizeable belt, he has a shitload to say about rugby life - from pitch to pub and everywhere in between. In What a Flanker, Haskell sheds fresh light on the dynamics and the day-to-day of the game.

Seán O'Brien does not come from a traditional rugby background. He grew up on a farm in Tullow, far from the rugby hotbeds of Limerick and Cork or the fee-paying schools of Dublin. But as he made his way up through the ranks, it soon became clear that he was a very special player and a very special personality. Now, Seán O'Brien tells the remarkable and unlikely story of his rise to the highest levels of world rugby and of a decade of success with Leinster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

The image of Jonny Wilkinson's last-minute winning drop goal is etched deep into the nation's consciousness, everyone able to recall where they were during that iconic moment on the 22nd November 2003. Twenty years on, with their achievement still unmatched, the affection and respect this band of brothers command is as great as ever. There is still no modern player as beloved as Jonny Wilkinson, no captain as celebrated and respected as Martin Johnson, and no coach as revered as Sir Clive Woodward. And there is no one with the aura and drive of Lawrence Dallaglio.

In the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'. Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby.

It's rare for a referee in any sport to be popular, yet Nigel Owens has always courted strong affection throughout the world - loved by the players, coaches, officials, TV commentators and even fans. A real character, some of his famous put-downs whilst lecturing players, such as 'This is Not Soccer', have become huge social media hits. The best rugby referee of his generation, Nigel also has an incredible back story to tell.

From his days growing up in Scotland to his harrowing experiences fighting in Italy during World War Two, Bill McLaren has always been in the thick of it. Used to being caught up in the most dramatic moments rugby has ever seen, McLaren relives the highlights of his illustrious career, and talks of the game today and his regrets that rugby went professional.

Rassie Erasmus has been called a genius. He’s been called reckless. All his life, he’s done things differently. Now, with his trademark candour, Rassie talks openly about his adventures and misadventures at the pinnacle of world rugby, both as player and coach. From his role in Nick Mallett's record-breaking Springbok team of the late 1990s, to the devastating injuries that cut short his playing career, to his revolutionary coaching career, Rassie is an essential window into one of the most successful figures of modern rugby.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Test, the stunning autobiography from rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll, read by Aidan Kelly. Between 1999, when he made his international debut, and his retirement in 2014, there was no greater player in world rugby than Brian O'Driscoll. In 2010 Rugby World magazine named him its world player of the decade - and since then the legend has only grown.

A hugely entertaining career autobiography from a true legend of Welsh rugby and a genuine cult figure. In rugby there are the Flash Harrys and the Glory Boys: the fly-halves who run, kick and dazzle; the scrum-halves who nip and dart; the wingers who step and glide. These are the players who get the crowd on their feet, who set stadiums abuzz. But they only get to do these things because other, less glorified figures do all of the donkey work. Adam Jones is one such figure.

In 2003, England won the Rugby World Cup. Steve Thompson was there, in England's front row, at the heart of the match and at the heart of the scrum—one of sport's most destructive, repetitive impacts. But the triumphs came at a cost. When rugby union turned professional, Steve was plunged into a game where raw power meant everything. Today, he remembers nothing about playing in that final. In his words, watching the tape back is like watching a ghost.

There have been many comments made and books written about Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks, and the first Black man to lead his country in more than 128 years of South African rugby. But now, for the very first time, Siya Kolisi shares his story in an extraordinarily intimate memoir, charting his journey from being born into the impoverished Zwide township, to leading his proud nation to an astonishing victory at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

In Ruck Me!, James sets out on a voyage of self-discovery speaking to ex-colleagues, friends and family, reflecting on his career and diving into some of his most memorable personal anecdotes to date. But what started out as a search for understanding and meaning soon turns into a - let’s face it, sometimes warranted - chastisement opportunity with James directly in the firing line. Turns out he has a lot of work to do....

In this powerful, open and honest memoir, Sonny Bill shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today. Sonny Bill Williams is a once in a generation athlete - a player with immense sporting talent in rugby league, rugby union and boxing. In his remarkable career, he has won World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015 and helped the Kiwis reach the 2013 final of the rugby league equivalent.