The sport of rugby union has burgeoned from the relaxed amateur games of the 1950s - played for fun and friendship - into the multi-million pound global sport it is today. International Rugby Union - The Illustrated History is the glorious story of this transformation, charting the rise of the game through its great games, celebrated moments and legendary players.

Peter Bills, a respected rugby writer with almost 40 years' experience of the game, offers and fresh and informed insight into this much-loved sport, revealing the joy and camaraderie that runs throughout the game as well as the tumultuous changes rugby has had to undergo since it entered the professional era at the end of the 20th century.

Presented decade-by-decade and packed with exclusive player contributions from the game's greatest names including Colin Meads, Jean-Pierre Rives, Gareth Edwards, David Campese, François Pienaar, Martin Johnson, Mike Catt and World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward, this beautiful illustrated book, containing more than 150 photographs, captures the highs and lows of rugby union through a stylishly written, anecdote packed text by one of the sport's leading authorities.