Being Barbarians

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.

Originally created in support of charity, the popularity of the calendars has been credited for the increased fame of the Stade Français team, as well as rugby in general, in France. The calendars are part of a marketing strategy crafted by Max Guazzini, President of the rugby club. A savvy marketer who built the NRJ Radio group, he has successfully used the calendars to attract a new audience to rugby matches (live and on TV), such as women.

Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

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.

Celebrating Pasifika rugby players and their communities. A story about small islands, big dreams and the sacrifices made by many to produce some of the world’s greatest players.

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.

Australia's first national sudoku team The Numbats - four ex-rugby mates - travel into the unknown of competitive puzzling as they enter the World Sudoku Championships in Goa, India.

Told through the eyes of an Australian news reporter, Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, who moved to the UK to escape depression, the documentary, follows 3 characters on their journey to overcome their struggles as the club competes against 60 other gay clubs in the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam – the World Cup of gay rugby.

Football icon Nathan Blake uncovers the incredible story of a Welsh rugby legend: his uncle, Clive Sullivan, who was the first black man to captain Great Britain in any sport.

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.

They're young, unemployed and on the march - from Glasgow, Liverpool and Swansea to London.

West Point Rugby's 2023 season after their National Championship win, exploring the team's distinctive culture while offering insight into both rugby and military academy life.

With great bawdiness and backbone, a rugby team made up of farmers strive to redeem themselves from a long run of bitter losses. In the face of the hefty demands of farming and fatherhood, the Saturday game becomes the focus of the men’s passions and the ground on which their worth is proved. ‘The Ground We Won’ is a highly authentic, slice of life film about the challenges and joys of manhood, as seen through the rites and rituals of a rural New Zealand rugby club.

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.

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.

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.

Follow the 2021 Queensland State of Origin Women's team as they strive to achieve the extraordinary in one of the most physically demanding professional sports in Australia.

In 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team disappeared into the Argentinean Andes. Now, 50 years after one of the greatest ordeals of survival in recorded human history, the full story is finally comprehensively told through the words of each of those who lived it.

An historical documentary that rereads the recent death of Jorge Videla, bloodthirsty dictator of Argentina in the 70’s, telling the disappearance, one by one, of the members of La Plata Rugby club. A tragic and compelling story where the passion for politics and sport is opposed to a fascist - military regime.

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.