If we’re all being honest with ourselves, rugby as a sport isn’t for everyone. Even the people who do like it can still argue amongst themselves about the best form that it can take, given the fact that some people adore rugby league whilst others will only ever watch rugby union.
Just because something isn’t necessarily for you, though, doesn’t mean that you can’t watch a documentary about it; in fact, there is even the possibility that doing so might get you engaged in the sport having never been all that interested in it in the past.
That is why it is worth having a look at these documentaries:
The Story of Rugby
If you want to get engaged with a sport, one of the first things that you will want to do is to find out all you can about it. That is where The Story of Rugby comes in, offering a contemporary take on the history of the sport as well as its impact around the world.
It is a six-part series that takes in both the origins of rugby and the manner in which it has played a role in shaping the identities of different nations. Released ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2019, it charts the sport’s history from life in ancient Rome through to how it became the fastest-growing major sport on the planet.
It is considered by fans of the sport to be one of the best documentaries that you can watch, showing scenes from the grassroots of the game in different countries. If you’re interested to know how it is that rugby ended up splitting, with some teams deciding to become professional and form rugby league and others rejecting this notion, the documentary explores it in-depth.
It is also important to note that no punches are pulled during the six episodes, looking at everything from the sexism inherent in the sport through to the class war and even how colonialism played a part in its initial formation.
Living with Lions
The most important thing to point out about Living with Lions is that it is less about the on-field game of rugby and more about the efforts of those that work behind the scenes to make a tour happen.
It follows the British Lions in 1997 as they look to head to South Africa, not shying away from the tensions that were within the camp at the time. It also shows you the pain of injuries suffered by players, given that all of Rob Howley, Will Greenwood and Doddie Weir had to head to the treatment room for various reasons across the course of the tour, which was a real low for each of them.
Own Slot, a leading rugby journalist at the time, said that ‘no rugby film has ever told the story as well’ as the Living with Lions documentary did. This is perhaps reflected in the fact that Johnny Sexton and Sam Warburton, who both went on to be successful players themselves, confessed to watching it numerous times.
The documentary is largely based around the events towards the end of the second Test, but an accompanying documentary, Living with The Lions 2 – The Final Week, was also released. If you want to get a sense of what it’s like when rugby is played at the highest level, this will provide it.
Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal & Pacific Island Rugby
There is an old saying about rugby, that it is ‘a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen’, the idea behind which is that the players will do what’s ‘right’. Sadly, that doesn’t always roll out to the wider sport in general, as demonstrated in Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal & Pacific Island Rugby.
The documentary was made by a former player, Dan Leo, and tells the story of how a mix of protectionism and self-interest had a damaging effect in the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. A big part of the issue began when rugby as a sport realised players could be brought in from the islands for dirt cheap.
Having not long turned professional, rugby union teams decided to import players from the Pacific Islands for a fraction of the cost of having to bring them in from the elite nations of the sport. The brutal reality of that was that when the players were no longer of use to the biggest teams, they were simply dropped with no thought about their futures or livelihoods.
The film doesn’t shy away from that self-centred nature of those in the upper echelons of the game, nor the fact that there are fewer people living in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa than in West Yorkshire, but the islands supply more than a quarter of the professional players.
Building Jerusalem
As you may or may not realise, the hymn Jerusalem is something of an unofficial anthem for the England rugby team, with the documentary Building Jerusalem offering an insight into the moment that rugby union decided to turn from being an amateur sport into a professional one.
The decision allowed England to win the 2003 World Cup, so James Erskine, the documentary maker, interviews talking heads from the sport in order to take us back and see how we got there. You shouldn’t get the impression that the interviews make it dry, however, with match action also included.
That ensures that some of the most scintillating moments from the sport’s past are there for you to watch, all whilst the players involved talk us through the mix of pressure, expectation and courage involved in winning a World Cup.
Many felt that Sir Clive Woodward had taken on something of a poisoned chalice when he decided to take over the England team, but being able to mix together the old-school nature of Martin Johnson and the representative of the new wave in Johnny Wilkinson soon turned it into a golden trophy. This is one that is all about England and unashamedly so.
Slammed
If the idea of sitting through a documentary talking about how brilliant the England rugby team is doesn’t appeal to you, and you wouldn’t be on your own on that front, you might want to look out for Slammed instead.
This is all about the trials and tribulations of the Wales rugby team between 1998 and 2008, with the three-part documentary exploring the ways in which the team got humiliated at the start of that time period, only to emerge from it victorious. After losing 96-13 to South Africa in embarrassing fashion in 1998, Wales completed the Grand Slam in 2005 for the ultimate redemption story.
Documentary series Slammed is back to look at the most turbulent decade in Welsh rugby history.
🆕 Slammed: The Eighties
📺 Wednesday, 8pm on @BBCOne Wales and @BBCiPlayer pic.twitter.com/zDOGjV68Iz— BBC Wales 🏴 (@BBCWales) January 11, 2024
That was the first time in 27 years that the country had enjoyed the clean sweep of the tournament, yet within 12 months the architect of it, Mike Ruddock, was sacked. Although we don’t find the true story of the decision, with Ruddock himself maintaining that it was all about contact issues, there are certainly some hints to the likes of a player rebellion that bubbled away under the surface.
It also tells the story of how Colin Charvis became the second-most hated man in Wales after Saddam Hussein when he was photographed smiling on the bench as Wales lost to Italy in 2003
Six Nations: Full Contact
James Gay-Rees is a name that viewers of the likes of Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Full Swing on Netflix might well recognise, with the British film producer having been involved in both. He was also the driving force behind Six Nations: Full Contact, which is essentially the rugby equivalent of those other documentaries.
It was produced between Netflix and the Six Nations, giving a behind-the-scenes look at how the matches played out in the 2023 Six Nations Championship, including interviews with the likes of the players and coaches who were involved in rugby union’s crown jewel tournament.
Given the global success of Drive to Survive, it was somewhat inevitable that other sports would get the same documentary treatment. Whilst Full Contact didn’t work for everyone, it was at least an opportunity for followers of the sport to get a sense of how the oldest tournament in the international version of the sport works.
All six of the squads taking part in the competition are given reasonably equal airtime, although the number of ‘characters’ that you might have hoped to hear from is limited in nature. That being said, there is plenty of humour for people to enjoy, as well as a degree to which all of the nations involved tend to live up to their stereotypes in great fashion.
