Tomorrow evening, war is due to break out in Paris. The battered, bruised English face the confident, on form South Africans for the biggest prize in rugby – the Rugby World Cup. To celebrate this epic encounter (and because it is a Friday) we have produced a one-off special edition Osprey Duel cover for the final. I can just see this battle as a Duel book – with incredible digital base of the scrum artwork, kicking tee views, profiles of the men wearing the jersey and detailed tactical maps analysing the movements of the players and describing each point won or lost. In "marketing speak" it is an ideal insight into the world of international rugby, from the crunching tackles to the electric runs. This book is an essential aid for any rugby fan.
It has often been said that rugby is the closest that you can get to ancient tribal warfare in the modern era and if you have seen the All Blacks (the nickname of the awesome New Zealand rugby team) perform their Haka you will see why!
Now, I know a lot of the people who read this blog live in the US where rugby is not exactly a national passion, and I don't want you to feel left out. So, here is a video of the US winger Ngwenya scoring a fantastic try for the US team against the South Africans earlier in the tournament. Ngwenya scores his try by outsprinting one of the best rugby players on the planet, Bryan Habana – a man who was thought to be the fastest man to ever play world rugby, and who races cheetahs for fun.
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Enough off the topic rambling for me, have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the rugby!