Three women, three men, all very high level athletes, Olympic medalists, world champions in basketball, judo, rugby, fencing, swimming and figure skating have agreed to testify in a documentary. For the first time, they publicly reveal their homosexuality.
Chasing Great is an insightful portrayal that weaves Richie McCaw's life story into his final season as an All Black, revealing the determination and mental toughness of an international sporting legend who still sees himself as an 'ordinary guy' from small town New Zealand.
In a closed locker room, rugby players perform the last pre-match rituals. Warming up their souls and bodies, all tense in anticipation of the fight.
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Big Boys Don't Cry' follows Joe Marler as he discusses his own struggles and learns new methods of managing mental wellbeing. The England and Harlequins player has opened up about his battles with mental health during his private life and his time playing rugby on the international stage. The documentary follows Marler as he travels around the UK to open up the conversation around mental health challenges and to learn about how people manage with their mental wellbeing - from taking the plunge in cold water swimming and getting involved in singing in a choir along the way.
Le Parc, Prince des stades
Fifty years since the start of The Troubles, the film captures the remarkable history of the Irish national rugby union team, which despite violence, opposition and partition in Ireland, has brought together players and fans from two countries and united them on and off the rugby pitch. BT Sport ambassador, and former Ireland and British & Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll, takes viewers on a powerful journey as he explores how Irish rugby manages to navigate and nurture a successful team through the years of violence that have claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people. Ireland has been divided not just on a map but by politics, history and religion. However, the Irish Rugby Union has continued to be the governing body of rugby, leading to the remarkable situation of players from two countries competing as one.
Exclusive two-disc film documenting the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in the summer of 1997. The unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the team shows the preparations, the training, the fun, the team selection, the 'earthy' language, the bonding, the awesome task of playing and some shocking footage of injuries. Despite securing the series with wins in the first two tests, the Lions remained motivated by the prospect of a 3-0 whitewash, a feat never achieved against the Springboks throughout the century.
Rugby Union has long been viewed in South Africa as a game for the white population, and the country’s success in the sport has been a true source of Afrikaner pride. When the 50-year-old policies and entrenched injustices of apartheid were finally overthrown in 1994, Nelson Mandela’s new government began rebuilding a nation badly in need of racial unity. So the world was watching when South Africa played host to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Though they had only one non-white player, the South African Springboks gained supporters of all colors as they made an improbable run into the final match where they beat the heavily favored New Zealand team. When Mandela himself marched to the center of the pitch cloaked in a Springbok jersey and shook hands with the captain of the South African team, two nations became one. Oscar winner Morgan Freeman and director Cliff Bestall will tell the emotional story of that cornerstone moment and what it meant to South Africa’s healing process.
Two segments make up this short film. The first portion called “The French” has two men taste testing some delicious wine, and the other, titled “The Gauls”, is of men playing rugby. This short by Werner Herzog is part of the “The French as Seen By…” series. It was initiated and sponsored by the newspaper Le Figaro, as part of the 1988 celebration of the tenth anniversary of its magazine section.
A peculiar homage to the things that go wrong, this film is purportedly about rugby. The self-explanatory title for this jumpy “documentary” is less concerned with the filmed subject (the game, the field, the players) than a comic editing style and the complete acknowledgement given to the technical aspect of gathering and manipulating raw footage.
One of Australia’s greatest coaches and leaders, Craig Bellamy, invites us into his inner sanctum as he aims to lead the Melbourne Storm to ultimate success in 2024.
L'odyssée du Top 14
Les Trois Glorieuses du XV de France
A behind the scenes look at the sport of rugby with the 2015 Rugby World Cup as a backdrop, featuring interviews from players, coaches, referees and fans.
Following the England Women’s Rugby League squad as they build up to the biggest competition of their lives, a home World Cup in October 2022. This raw and honest journey takes a look at the women who are battling for a place in the squad, despite not being paid professionals and having to hold down full-time jobs alongside club rugby and England commitments.
Six years after Welsh International rugby star Shane Williams hung up his jersey, cameras follow him as he goes to work with his family firm, tries new sports and attempts to build a life without rugby.
Behind the scene peek at the shooting of international athletes for the famous calendar.
Before the summer of 2022, Ireland had never beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand. Using behind the scenes footage and interviews with players and coaches this documentary reflects on the experience of triumphing in New Zealand for the first time.
After six weeks of gruelling competition, England battle reigning champions Australia. The two teams are inseparable after eighty minutes. Deep into extra time, there are just two minutes left on the clock. England rumble to within 40 yards of the posts. The ball is sent spiralling back to Jonny Wilkinson, the golden boy of English rugby, in a split second he drop kicks for goal and a chance for sporting immortality. It is an astonishing story of pressure, expectation and courage, tracing the roots of success back to the professionalization of the game in the 90s and culminating in that glorious World Cup campaign of 2003 that turned Woodward’s poisoned chalice into a golden cup.