Saving Rugby Union is a damning, forensic account of the way rugby union has been mismanaged in the professional era.
Its increased popularity as a spectator sport in the 25 years since it turned professional has thrown a smokescreen over the crisis it faces. A highly physical game has been turned into a dangerous sport by, misguidedly, trying to match the flow of its great rival, rugby league. There is now a worrying drop in male playing numbers in major nations. Commercialism has been allowed to dominate the game. One of rugby's greatest success stories – the Lions tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia – has been severly undermined.
While praising the best features of the modern game, especially the expansion of women's rugby, the book details the issues that need urgent solutions and provides a template for dealing with the sport's injury crisis.
