This collection of essays charts the development of rugby football from its origins in the English public schools and ancient universities to its acceptance in the farthest reaches of the empire.

This book is a must" read for students of rugby, as well as those with interests in gender and the politics of identity, and it will lead the way in future discussions of sport and invented traditions"Sporting Traditions"Highly recommended not only to all those who fashion rugby but also to all those interested in the role of sport in the sociocultural process"ChoiceFrank Cass Journal - The International Journal of the History of Sport - reviewed by Mike Cronin - Uni Sheffield"Making Men offers an important examination of masculinity within the world of rugby football ... The attraction of this book is that it is not a turgid academic read ... An excellent and highly useful text for anyone interested in the variety of themes covered, and secondly a pleasurable book in which anyone, rugby enthusiast or otherwise, can immerse themselves and make connections and come to conclusions to suit their own requirements ... Naurught and Chandler have taken on a difficult project and achieved a resounding success ... It should be essential reading for anyone interested in the development of nationalism and masculinity."Sport History Review, 1997"This is a well-written piece of scholarship that will undoubtedly enhance for the novice reader an awareness of the problematic nature of masculinity."London Review of Books, 14/11/96 - extensive review, but with no interesting quotes.British Journal of Sociology, May 1997"Very good and well written ... the work is important not only to sociologists generally, but also to historians, lawyers and others working within cultural studies."New Zealand Journal of History, Vol 30, No 2, Oct 96"There is much here that will provide a valuanle comparative model for the future historical study of New Zealand sport.