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Le Coq

A Journey to the Heart of French Rugby

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About this listen

From 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 Jonny Wilkinson to Dan Carter, as well as French legends of the sport, from Serge Blanco and Jean-Pierre Rives to Antoine Dupont, Le Coq: A History of French rugby brings to life the passion, color, 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.

©2023 Peter Bills (P)2023 W.F. Howes Ltd Rugby Sports Writing Travel Writing & Commentary Sports
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A book I’ve been waiting decades for - probably because our interests coincide - a love of rugby and France.
The best rugby book I’ve read - and one of the most enjoyable on any subject.
Santé Peter Bills!

Far more than a rugby book

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Peter Bills has a wonderful way with words, you can feel the love for this game and country. loved it

purely wonderful stuff. smiled the whole way through it!!

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I enjoyed this audiobook much more than the author's previous title, The Jersey, for two reasons. Firstly, it's read by the Author himself which makes for a much better listen than previous. Secondly, and unlike The Jersey which played too much into the myth and legend of NZ Rugby and all felt a bit fawning, the author clearly has a first-hand passion for all things French Rugby. That passion comes through here and the book is as much a love letter to the country itself, its food, its wine and its people as it is a great telling of what makes French Rugby what it is. An excellent listen. A tip: listen at 1.2 speed as the natural narration is a tad laboured.

A passion for French rugby

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