Return to Rugby Land: An Expatriate in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup

After living overseas for forty years an expatriate returns to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup to report on matches and travel around the islands. But Return to Rugby Land is about more than the games and the scenery. Sport’s place in society, especially New Zealand society, is explored. The myths, psyche and anxieties of a small nation are examined. Comfortable shibboleths, including about Maori and women, are questioned. Return to Rugby Land is a personal account that offers a broad understanding of New Zealand, and the game that is at its heart, historically and now. Sometimes challenging and provocative, the writing is also insightful and heartfelt. A thinking sports’ follower’s book. 

This 2017 update of Return to Rugby Land includes an introduction about the 2015 RWC and other developments.