Bills, Peter – The Bell Bookshop

Le Coq

Emma — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘An impassioned tour around France which is best enjoyed with a bottle of red … or two.’ The Sunday Times’I’ve known Peter for some years and I’m sure you will enjoy his personal journey to the heart of rugby in this superb country.’ Dan Carter, Former All Black and Rugby World Cup winner’Bills’ wondrous travelogue features so many great tales from the mouths of legends.’ Irish Independent’I really enjoyed this book … A great memoir of France and its people through the eyes of rugby.’ Michael Lynagh, TV analyst and Australian Rugby World Cup winner’Wonderful! This is a great read. I simply loved it and I am sure that many others will also.’ Bob Dwyer, Australian World Cup winning coach 1991From French rugby’s origins in Le Havre to the Catalan coast, acclaimed rugby writer Peter Bills travels the length and breadth of France, visiting the big cities and regional heartlands of the game, to reveal a country whose deep love of rugby has created a culture and playing style like no other.Featuring exclusive interviews with many of the greatest international players to have played club rugby in France, from Ronan O’Gara to Dan Carter, as well as French legends of the sport, from Serge Blanco and Jean-Pierre Rives to Antoine Dupont, Le Coq brings to life the passion, colour, excitement, characters, anecdotes, locations and great moments of French rugby’s near 150 years of existence.Former French Grand Slam captain Jacques Fouroux talked of ‘Rugby; the game, the life’. This book will show you exactly what he meant.

Le Coq

Emma — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘An impassioned tour around France which is best enjoyed with a bottle of red … or two.’ The Sunday Times’I’ve known Peter for some years and I’m sure you will enjoy his personal journey to the heart of rugby in this superb country.’ Dan Carter, Former All Black and Rugby World Cup winner’Bills’ wondrous travelogue features so many great tales from the mouths of legends.’ Irish Independent’I really enjoyed this book … A great memoir of France and its people through the eyes of rugby.’ Michael Lynagh, TV analyst and Australian Rugby World Cup winner’Wonderful! This is a great read. I simply loved it and I am sure that many others will also.’ Bob Dwyer, Australian World Cup winning coach 1991From French rugby’s origins in Le Havre, (as an English export in the late nineteenth century) to the Catalan coast, acclaimed rugby writer Peter Bills travels the length and breadth of this vast country visiting not only the big cities but those regional heartlands of the game such as Toulouse, Bordeaux and Clermont as well as clubs in the Basque country, to reveal a country whose deep love of rugby has created a culture and playing style like no other. Featuring exclusive interviews with many of the greatest international players to have played club rugby in France, from Ronan O’Gara to Dan Carter, as well as French legends of the sport, from Serge Blanco and Jean-Pierre Rives to Antoine Dupont, Le Coq: A Journey to the Heart of French rugby brings to life the passion, colour, excitement, characters, anecdotes, locations and great moments of French rugby’s near 150 years of existence, just as it prepares to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.Former French Grand Slam captain Jacques Fouroux talked of ‘Rugby; the game, the life’: this book will show you exactly what he meant.

The Jersey

Emma — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The phenomenal international number one bestseller with exclusive interviews with Richie McCaw, Steve Hansen, Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter, The Jersey is the definitive story behind the greatest sports team on the planet.

‘Extremely well written. Compelling, accurate, insightful and brilliant in the way it captures the New Zealand way’ – John Hart, former All Blacks coach.

With a better winning record than any other sports team in history, they stand head and shoulders above their nearest rugby rivals. How did a country of just 4.8 million people conquer the world?

Peter Bills, who has reported on international rugby for more than forty years, was given exclusive access to all the key figures in New Zealand rugby as he set out to understand the secrets behind the All Blacks success. Peter talked at length with ninety people, both in New Zealand and around the world, with intimate knowledge of what makes the All Blacks tick.

The Jersey goes to the heart of the All Blacks success. It is also an epic story of not just a rugby team but a nation, whose identities are inextricably linked.