That said one picture out of about 40 or so is a bit poor given that one player in fifteen is female, and - given the multitude of attractive, athletic photos out there of women players - the choice of a slightly scarey image of the Kazakhstan front row about to pack down (see page 6, and right) as the sole visual represention the women's game is a fairly odd one... but I guess its better than nothing at all which, I have to admit, is kind of what I expected.
However, there may be a second photo at the foot of page 8 (and left)... its difficult to be certain about the gender of the players depicted... what do you think?
One explanation may be that the writer of the book is a forward. I have no way to be sure, but fact that persons of a larger physique dominate the publication, and there is a ruck, scrum or line out going on somewhere on pretty much every page that features any action photographs, could be a bit of a giveaway. Dammit even the illustration of sevens is of a line-out! Quite what image of rugby this would give a complete beginner I am not entirely sure...
But, to be fair, its pretty good and all one might ask is where you get copies from... which the IRB do not tell us. Maybe we are we all expected to use just the electonic copy... in which case wouldn't a set of web pages be better than a pdf?
Do you know if there are any plans to make some sort of on-line introduction? Or is there one? Like an on-line course or anything. Obviously learning on the field is the best but it would be nice to give youngsters the chance to go through a course...perhaps get a certificate printed at the end? Always difficult to get kids to sit down and go through books like this.
ReplyDeleteGreat that it will be in Hindi - am in India!
Not a certificate as such (as yet - there is always a marketing opportunity there to be had) but have a look at http://www.irbrugbyready.com/irbrr/en/home8.jsp
ReplyDeletefor a basic understanding of the game. The course can be taken by 14 year olds (well it can in the UK but can't vouch for other places(mindful of the coverage this site enjoys!! :-) ).
On the pitch learning is best and with a few decent coaches you can get players up and running in a game situation in a few hours. Good luck with it.
Spike