The Rugby Union World Cup has kicked off in France this week, so this episode of 'Rugby Reloaded' goes back in time to look at when France was expelled from the international game in 1931. Not only was France kicked out of the Five Nations but its clubs were banned from playing British teams. We look at how and why this happened, and explore how de…

Rugby Reloaded is back for a brand new series and we kick-off with a blockbuster interview with Anthony Broxton about his new book ‘Hope and Glory: Rugby League in Thatcher’s Britain’. Anthony’s book explores the history of the sport during a pivotal decade for Britain. It was the era of Hanley and Offiah, when the pro game expanded as far as Kent,…

The latest 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Professor Matthew Brown about his new book 'Sports in South America. A History'. It's a panoramic view of the birth of modern sport on the continent from the mid-1800s to the first FIFA world cup in 1930. The book covers the full range of sports but our interview focuses on some of the key themes of football his…

Duncan Stone's new book 'Different Class: The Untold Story of English Cricket' is both a history of cricket from the grassroots and an analysis of the roots of the sport's attitudes to race and class. Duncan uncovers the reality of cricket behind the myth, and reveals the true story of working-class cricket in the south of England. For anyone wanti…

This week's episode talks to Geoff Armstrong about his latest book, the second volume of 'Spirit of the Red V', his in-depth history of St George Dragons. St George are one of the most significant clubs in the history of Australian rugby league. Famous for its unparalleled run of 11 straight premierships in the the 1950s and 1960s, the club's fortu…

On 5 November I was invited to give a talk about Huddersfield and its role in rugby's split of 1895 by the Huddersfield Local History Society (https://www.huddersfieldhistory.org.uk). In it, I look at the growth of rugby in the town, the rise of the rugby club, the role of its most infamous administrator Frank Marshall, and how the split played out…

On Friday, the 21 October 2022, I gave a talk at the Museum of Wigan Life titled 'Roy Francis, George Bennett, race and rugby league' as one of the museum's Black History Month events. The talk looks at the lives of the two players, examines the impact of the 1919 racist riots on their lives and the sport, and for the first time reveals how George …

The new Rugby Reloaded talks to Stewart McGill and Vince Raison about their fascinating new book, 'The Roaring Red Front: The World's Top Left-Wing Football Clubs' (Pitch Publishing). They travelled around the world visiting soccer clubs which have a reputation for left-wing politics, sampling the match-day atmosphere, and exploring the histories o…

Rugby History 101: the shape of the ball. The latest 'Rugby Reloaded' investigates why the rugby ball is oval - and, as usual, the answer is not as obvious as you might think. It's a long story where technology, traditions and tournaments converged in an evolutionary process to create the oval world. For more on the history of rugby and the other f…

The new 'Rugby Reloaded' looks at the career of Maurice Lindsay, who died last week. From Wigan to the RFL to Super League, Maurice changed the face of rugby league as radically as he divided opinion about himself. Part visionary, part inveterate self-publicist, Maurice created the greatest British rugby league team in generations, spearheaded the …

The latest 'Rugby Reloaded' talks with Jonty Winch about his new book 'World Champions: The Story of South African Rugby'. For the first time, Jonty tells the complete story of South African rugby union from its beginnings to the present day by including all sections of society, black, white, 'coloured', and women. It's a major publication for the …

In the second episode of our two-part special on the history of rugby union and concussion, we take a look how attitudes changed with the coming of professionalism in the 1990s.For a sport that came into the world with deep links to the medical profession, the 21st century saw it abandon its past in favour of new relationships with sports scientist…

This week's episode is the first of a two-part special looking at the history of rugby union's changing attitude towards head injuries. The sight of Wales' Tomas Francis staggering around Twickenham during February's England-Wales match after a head clash has reignited the debate about rugby's treatment of concussion. I also have to declare a perso…

The new 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to former 'Sydney Morning Herald' rugby league journalist Steve Mascord about his new book 'Two Tribes'. It chronicles the rollercoaster year of 1997, when rugby league down under split into two competitions, Super League and the Australian Rugby League. Featuring over 100 interviewees with the key protagonists, Steve…

Rochdale Hornets may not have been the most successful rugby league team but they are an exemplar of the sport's struggles and culture. The new 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Jim Stringer and Mark Wynn, the authors of a brand new history of the club - 'Triumph and Disaster : 150 Years of Rochdale Hornets' about the club's origins in Victorian England, h…

'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Hugh Godwin about his fascinating new biography of the England winger of the 1930s, Prince Alexander Obolensky. 'The Flying Prince' is a meticulously researched book which examines how a Russian noble came to be the hero of English rugby union by scoring two devastating tries in England's first ever win over the All Blacks…

It's 75 years since the British Rugby League Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. And to talk about their new book about the 'Indomitables', as the tourists were nicknamed, 'Rugby Reloaded' is joined by Martin Whitcombe, grandson of tourist Frank Whitcombe, and acclaimed historian Huw Richards. We discuss the political origins of the tour, the …

'Rugby Reloaded' this week talks to Professor Gavin Kitching, author of 'A Fateful Love; Essays on Football in the North-East of England 1880-1930' about what history can tell us about the recent takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi Arabian investment fund. Is the hyper-commercialisation of football today a consequence of the commercialism which…

The new 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Professor Derek Catsam about his new book on the strange, sanction-busting Springbok of the USA in 1981, 'Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America's Anti-Apartheid Movement'. This is story of the interlocking of rugby union politics, apartheid, the Cold War and some inconsequential rugby matches…

This month's 'Rugby Reloaded' chats with Huw Richards about the past, present and future of rugby league in London following the London Broncos' decision to revert to part-time pro status. We look at the history of the club and the problems facing rugby league expansion in London, as well as its achievements over the past 40 years, before gazing in…

This month's 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Dr Hendrik Snyders about the attempts to start rugby league in South Africa in the 1950s and the influx of black, 'coloured' and white South Africans into British rugby league in the 1960s. It's a story of politics, race, RFL accommodation to apartheid, and British rugby league providing a home for non-white r…

In the last of the current weekly series of 'Rugby Reloaded' I catch up with journalist and fellow Hull-born leaguie Trevor Gibbons to talk about growing up league in Hull, the psycho-geography of the city's sport, the eternal battle between the red and the black, and what it all means to the city of Hull. For more on the history of rugby and the o…

On 4 July 1914 the greatest rugby league test match of all time took place - the third and decisive game of the 1914 Ashes series. Led by Harold Wagstaff, a nine-man British Lions team overcame Australia 14-6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It set the template for international rugby league and became the benchmark for what was expected of players. B…

It's Game 4 of the Stanley Cup tonight and so this week's episode of 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Bruce Berglund about the history of ice hockey and his new book 'The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sport'. We talk about hockey's origins at the same time as the emergence of the football codes, how it reflected Muscular Chris…

'Rugby League is dying' has been a refrain that has dogged the sport throughout its history. But rugby league hasn't died, and in fact has survived numerous attempts to kill it off. So why does this 'meme' continue? The latest 'Rugby Reloaded' looks at its history, asks why it has re-emerged recently, and argues that the sport is no closer to death…