{"product_id":"unholy-union-when-rugby-collided-with-the-modern-world-9781472130709","title":"Unholy Union: When Rugby Collided with the Modern World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is the state of rugby?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIs the game on the brink of expansion? \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOr is it on the brink of implosion?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNo game has undergone so traumatic a transformation since the turn of the century. The last of the major sports to embrace professionalism, rugby was propelled on a trajectory that has twisted its cumbersome frame to the limit in a drama compelling and appalling to behold. After a hundred years defying the future, rugby now shudders with the turmoil of its sudden leap into the modern world, attaining heights hitherto undreamed of, even as the strains - financial, political, social and medical - threaten to tear it apart. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith a global focus (and a particular lens on Australasian and South African rugby), \u003ci\u003e Unholy Union\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating and in-depth analysis of the sport, examining the journey so far and speculating on where it will go next. It is irreverent and provocative, asking uncomfortable questions of rugby, but imbued throughout with affection for a game that integrates all human life, as beautiful as it is ugly, as in love with itself as it is terrified. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSports enter periods that make or break them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRugby is in one now . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Constable \u0026amp; Robinson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/12\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781472130709\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352","brand":"Mike Aylwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38027788550325,"sku":"9781472130709","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_233828f4-1ed1-4422-8e7a-0476c5cc77c7.jpg?v=1609193786","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/unholy-union-when-rugby-collided-with-the-modern-world-9781472130709","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}