world in union: a history of the rugby world cup in xv matches

World in Union is the story of the Rugby World Cup told via its fifteen most important and dramatic matches. From the inauspicious beginnings of the 1987 tournament, which nearly didn’t happen due to back-room politics, and the amateur era’s aversion to commercialism, the Rugby World Cup has grown into the third largest sporting event in the world, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

World in Union looks at the greatest games and the biggest controversies played out on the Rugby World Cup stage with each chapter focusing on a different game. Western Samoa breaking Welsh hearts, the emergence of Jonah Lomu, Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar uniting the Rainbow Nation, Wilkinson’s drop for World Cup glory, France’s habit of spoiling the All Blacks’ party, Sam Warburton’s controversial sending off and Japan’s greatest moment--all this and more is covered in this enjoyable narrative for all rugby fans.

James Dixon is a sports author who specialises in the intersection of sport, politics and economics. His debut book ’The Fix: How The First Champions League Was Won And Why We All Lost’ looked the 1992/93 UEFA Champions League that Bernard Tapie’s Olympique Marseille won but were banned from defending due to allegations of match-fixing His next book (published Summer 2023) will look at the social, political and economic forces behind the creation of the Rugby World Cup and how that tournament has changed rugby union and not always for the better.