Voices From the Back of the Bus, by Stewart McKinney

Few sports have changed so radically as rugby union in the past 15 years following the official adoption of professionalism. This compilation of reminiscences by more than 100 leading players from the last hurrah of the amateur ethos is a reminder of a different age.

A more innocent one? Only if you regard unrestrained pleasure in punching opponents, then drinking vast quantities of beer with the people you were hitting a few hours earlier, as innocent; a startling number of the players quoted chose these aspects of the game to recall fondly. And yet they also celebrate lifetime friendships formed, and the sheer pleasure of playing the game. One of them, Ian McGeechan, has spanned the two eras, first as a Scotland and Lions international, then as an inspirational coach, and in Lion Man (Pocket Books, £8.99) he offers an insider's view of the past, present and future of British rugby. Taken together, these two books suggest that the days before big bucks and burnout were less organised, but they sure as hell were a lot more fun.

Published in paperback by Mainstream, £7.99