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 34 • Merit table rugby is the heart and soul of the English men’s game, it’s where everyone can get a game, no matter how old, or how bad.

RUGBY JOURNAL

RUGBY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2026 SHORTLIST • More than 3,500 photographers from around the world entered this year’s Rugby Photographer of the Year awards. Following deliberation by our judging panel, we are pleased to present the 2026 shortlist.

GAVIN & SCOTT HASTINGS • In rugby, there have always been brothers playing for their country, but few have proved to be as pioneering, respected and talented as Gavin and Scott Hastings. Part of Scotland’s last golden generation, they helped usher in a new era for the Lions, while never forgetting their roots. And, thanks to Scott, there were always plenty of laughs to be had along the way too.

CZECH REP. • RUGBY CAME TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC A CENTURY AGO VIA A NATIONAL LITERARY ICON FAMED FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS FEATURING A BOW-TIE-WEARING ANT CALLED FERDA. TO CELEBRATE THE CENTENARY, THERE HAD TO BE A MATCH. A RIVAL, EITHER OLDEST OR NEAREST, IDEALLY BOTH. INSTEAD, THE CZECHS CHOSE MEXICO.

HAINEALA LUTUI • BEFORE SHE’D PLAYED A MINUTE IN THE PWR, AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD HAINEALA LUTUI WAS ALREADY TRAINING WITH THE RED ROSES. BLESSED WITH THE POWER TO FLATTEN ANY DEFENDER, AND WITH INTERNATIONAL TONGAN PEDIGREE, NEXT ON THE LIST WAS REALISING THAT POTENTIAL.

MERIT TABLES • The merit tables of English rugby is the spiritual home of grassroots. Where old meets new, beginners face vets, and as long as there’s a pitch of some sort, and roughly fifteen players, the game is on. What’s more, with almost a thousand sides turning out in over a hundred divisions, it could be the saving grace of the English community game.

ALFIE BARBEARY • A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD BACKROWER STORMED ONTO THE SCENE WITH A HAT-TRICK AGAINST LEICESTER TIGERS. THREE GAMES LATER, HE’S TRAINING WITH ENGLAND, THEN PLAYING IN EUROPE, BUT THEN, JUST AS IT COULDN’T GET ANY BETTER FOR ALFIE BARBEARY, IT GOT WORSE. MUCH WORSE.

INTER SERVICES CHAMPIONSHIP • TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS FLOCKED TO THIS YEAR’S INTER SERVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS ACROSS THREE VENUES, WHERE THE WOMEN’S GAME CONTINUED TO GROW AT PACE, AND THE MEN’S SAW HISTORY BEING MADE WITH STANDARDS RAISED TO ALL-TIME HIGHS.

UKRAINE • Like thousands of Ukrainians, Dmytro Tukalo was forced to join the Nazis during World War Two. After witnessing untold horrors, he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Scotland, later making the country his home. He promised to return to his beloved Ukraine some day, but never made the journey, instead it was left to his rugby-playing son Iwan.

DEBORAH GRIFFIN • It took one match, hastily arranged against a rival university, in a sport women just didn’t play, for Deborah Griffin to fall for the game. Soon, she was pivotal in setting up more games, then a union, then a World Cup. That she’d end up as the first female president of the RFU was simply...