This is a site where useful statistical information cohabits with a blaze of advertising. The reference enquirer may, at first glance, find the flashing text to be greatly off‐putting. However, beneath the spin and cutting through the chaff there is a unique and well‐structured information base on the game of Rugby Union.
As one should expect, the advertising, which uses the technique of pop‐up windows to sell everything from a rugby shirt to a mobile ‘phone, can become tiresome. Yet, thanks to the clear design there are some conventions that, once understood, allow the user to ignore parts of the site which may be of low relevance. For example, advertisements are allowed in some areas of the screen while other areas are reserved for news items of a serious rugby nature.
Among the resources is a complete fixture listing for future games in the various tournaments such as the Six Nations. This is complemented by the results section which has a search facility to enable the user to find matches from as long ago as 1871. Once found, match results can be further explored through the match report link. The match report gives final score and half‐time score, full team sheets, official attendance figure, types of score, names of scorers and names of officials.
The facility to search for players’ details is particularly impressive. The enquirer can submit a player’s name into a search box, which then returns a full record. It is also possible in the player search to use other criteria for retrieval such as: career date, position played, nationality and tournament. Having carried out a test search for Gareth Edwards, the Welsh and Lions scrum‐half from the 1970s, there was much detail returned. This included date of birth, age, place of birth, date and opponent of first and last cap, number of points scored, broken down into number of tries, drop goals and penalties. Incidentally, Edwards scored 20 tries, three drop goals, two conversions and one penalty. The record also includes a paragraph giving the highlights of the player’s career.
Another search facility available is a venue search, providing details of all the grounds used to play rugby. This returns information on the ground, such as full postal address, telephone number and capacity. Some of the more famous grounds have a short written description along with a photograph.
The site is well designed and easy to follow, using a navigation bar which is permanently displayed on the left hand side. There is a lot of information to take in on the first visit and often there is confusion about whether one is about to be led into an advertisement or to more useful information. The coverage is comprehensive, its main strength lying (not surprisingly) with details of “home” nations rugby. There is plenty of coverage of the Southern Hemisphere scene too, giving a year‐round interest. I was pleased and encouraged to see the rugby endeavours of many of the smaller rugby nations such as Romania, Russia, and Canada mentioned in more than just passing detail.
This site is a good starting point for any investigation into rugby; it is particularly strong on the “record books” which, through the electronic searching facility are rendered most useful. In the clubhouse bar during a post‐match pint of bitter, the endless questions about the finer points of rugby such as, against which team did Gareth Edwards score his only international penalty, will be answered by this Web site.
