Hard-core Rugby by Bryan Williams & Maurice Trapp & Joe Stanley & Grant McCurrach

Hard-core Rugby (Illustrated 1994 Rugby Technique Guide in Dust Jacket)

A Colour-Illustrated Guide to the Physical Side of the Game, Co-Written by All Black Great Bryan Williams

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Hard-core Rugby: Tough Men in a Tough Game
• Authors: Bryan Williams & Maurice Trapp & Joe Stanley & Grant McCurrach
• Publisher: Struik Book Distributors (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 1994
• ISBN-13: 9781875015030
• ISBN-10: 1875015035
• Binding: Publisher's grey cloth boards with gilt lettering to the spine, in a pictorial photographic dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large upright quarto, heavily illustrated with colour photographs throughout.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The plain dark grey cloth boards are clean, with a slight bump or wear at the top edge of the front board. The gilt lettering at the foot of the spine is clear and the spine appears straight.
• Interior: The pages seen are clean and bright, with colour plates throughout. The binding appears tight. No foxing, marks or writing were seen.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The glossy photographic jacket is in good order, with light surface scuffing and mostly intact edges. A small pink round sticker sits on the spine near the foot, over the publisher's logo. The jacket is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Hard-core Rugby: Tough Men in a Tough Game, published in Cape Town by Struik in 1994, is a colour-illustrated look at the hardest, most physical side of the game. It is credited to Bryan Williams, Maurice Trapp, Joe Stanley and Grant McCurrach.

The book covers the core contact and set-piece skills, including tackling, scrummaging, rucking, mauling, kicking, lineouts and running. It also includes attacking move diagrams and training methods, supported by action photographs of international players and teams.

A handsome, heavily illustrated volume for the rugby shelf, and a good addition to a collection of South African sporting books from the mid-1990s.

Author Profile: Bryan Williams

Bryan Williams, born in Auckland in 1950, was a New Zealand winger who played 113 matches for the All Blacks between 1970 and 1978, including 38 Tests, and scored 66 tries.

He later coached Ponsonby, Samoa, Auckland and the Hurricanes. He was knighted (KNZM) and in 2024 was an inaugural inductee into the Pasifika Rugby Hall of Fame.

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