Keep the gees alive with these 5 rugby books

Former Springbok player Thando Manana with his book.
Image: Daily Dispatch

When we think of the efforts that go into ensuring the Springboks win, we often think of the players, the coaching staff and even the WAGs in their personal lives. However, very few people have thought about the people on the sidelines like Annelee Murray. 

In The First Lady of Springbok Rugby she details her journey as the team's public relations manager who was present for two Springbok Rugby World Cup wins. Affectionately known as the "mother of the Springboks", she wrote the book during Covid, looking back at her journey of being the first woman travelling side by side with the likes of Joost van der Westhuizen and even watching the diversification of the national team.

Speaking of diversity in the Springboks, it's hard not to look at one of its biggest stars when on the topic, and no one embodies it quite like Siya Kolisi. Described as the stuff of fairytales, Kolisi's story follows his rise in the green and gold as he became the first black captain of the national team.

The book also tackles Kolisi's view on his faith and keeping a positive mindset as he worked towards defying the odds stacked against him.

Now that the Afrikaans word kant has become a viral sensation, it would only be fitting to read a book that plays with the word in its title. Onkant! sees the Sunday Times' own Hendrick Hancke trek South Africa for the stories of rugby players and role players about their time on the national team.

From off-pitch stories to untold tales, the book looks at the most unexpected tales and adventures that every novice or die-hard rugby fan would cherish.

As one of the first black rugby players to represent South Africa for the Springboks, Thando Manana went through a turbulent journey before making the national team. Before fame as a tough tackling lock, Manana takes the reader on a journey beginning with the abandonment he experienced, navigating life with a druglord in the Eastern Cape and becoming an advocate for diversity in rugby.

When looking back at the history of rugby, many might reference the fateful match that saw the Boks lose to the British Lions 28-9. Looking back at the afternoon, MacDonald retells what it felt like to be the youngest player on the pitch in that catastrophic match. Taking a humorous approach to retelling rugby history, MacDonald invites readers on a journey that would leave South African rugby traumatised for years.