Rugby Journal

The Rugby Journal is the home of big rugby reads. A print quarterly that not only should take pride of place on any bookshelf, but one that digs deep into rugby unlike any other publication. Within the refined pages of the Rugby Journal, the greats (from Campese and Carling to Edwards and Isherwood) share their life stories, and a truly global game is explored, be it in Chile or China, Spain or Shetland, India or the Isle of Man. Rugby clubs aren’t just covered, they’re uncovered, revealing their past, present, and future through the many voices that make them what they are. And we’re not just talking about the Cardiffs, Castres, Bristols, and Bordeauxs of this world. It’s also about the Brixhams, Merthyrs, Clontarfs, and Stirlings. Every level of the game has incredible stories to tell, and the Rugby Journal is where you find them, beautifully told by the best storytellers.

RUGBY 35 • Twenty or so years ago I met a school teacher at a Kent Rugby coaching course, who has truly changed the London rugby world.

Rugby Journal

RUGBY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2026 | WINNERS

MARCUS SMITH • AT EIGHTEEN, HE WAS ALREADY IN THE SPOTLIGHT, AN ENGLAND ‘APPRENTICE’. IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER FOUR YEARS FOR HIM TO STEP UP, BUT NOT BEFORE HE’D BEEN DOUBTED BY MANY, ALBEIT NOT BY THOSE THAT MATTERED, INCLUDING EDDIE JONES, AND HIS MUM.

JONAH LOMU • “I remember being with him in hospital; I asked him, ‘Jonah, what’s your faith?’. He says, ‘Mormon’. So, I said, ‘You know, it’s an offshoot of Christianity. And in the scriptures, it talks about forgiveness. Have you forgiven your father?’. And he said, ‘Yes. I haven’t forgotten, but I’ve had to forgive him’.”

MEDWAY • It started with a meeting over tea and biscuits. Now, on the banks of the river which inspired Charles Dickens, Medway RFC boast the largest girls’ section in England, with 169 girls flocking to training every week. This is the story of how they built a section from scratch.

ADVERTORIAL • Connection is the essential ingredient to every successful rugby club, and last year Vodafone and Scottish Rugby embarked on a journey to bring communities together through clubs.connected and Rugby Journal was there every step of the way.

SAME AGAIN? • A year on from the biggest day of their rugby lives, so much has changed for Holly Aitchison, Sadia Kabeya and Tatyana Heard, except, that is, for the desire to do it all again in three years.

FILO TIATIA • As a player he helped overthrow the mighty Leinster in the colours of a Welsh region. Today, thirteen years later, former All Black Filo Tiatia might just be the man to ensure Dragons finally realise their rugby potential.

SOUTHWARK TIGERS • Southwark Tigers changed the game for inner-city rugby in south London. They were founded by a pioneering man who snuck children out of school for tag rugby tournaments and then played matches in the shadows of the Aylesbury Estate where Top Boy was filmed and Tony Blair made his first speech as Prime Minister.

DICK BEST • Rolling out sixty kilos of pastry every day in the basement of a London hotel didn’t seem the best way to prepare East Ender Dick Best for a career in rugby, but it gave him the strength to steel him for a life well spent as player and Lions-class coach.

CYPRUS • Most people in rugby don’t know that Cyprus holds the record for the longest winning streak of any international men’s rugby side. But, then, most people in Cyprus don’t know either.

FYLDE V PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS • Gentrified coast meets industry-powered city, in one of rugby’s truly great rivalries, the all-Lancashire derby of Preston Grasshoppers and Fylde. Beaumont, Uttley, Dooley, Greenwood, and many other greats have been involved in its storied past, now it plays out in National 2 North.

First XV • IF THIS JOURNAL WAS A RUGBY TEAM, WHO WOULD...