England versus Europe
England versus Europe tells the fascinating story of the Heineken Cup. It recounts how European club rugby travelled from Cardiff Arms Park to Marseille via Bilbao, Newcastle and many major European rugby stadiums in between. The Heineken Cup was launched in the summer of 1995 to provide a professional cross-border competition, but English and Scottish teams could not take part. Back in 1995, were we really sure that the concept of European club rugby would ever catch on and culminate in a final in front of a packed stadium? Probably not. But the European tournaments have put the club and provincial game in Europe virtually on a par with international rugby. The book gives a season-by-season history of the Heineken Cup as well as accounts of what went on off the field.
Mike Miles has written for numerous rugby and football publications including Rugby World, The Rugby Paper and Late Tackle, and he writes for the blogs The Ball is Round and The Ball is Oval. Author of two previous books on West Ham United, in 2013 Mike wrote Heading for the Line, a guide to rugby league grounds. He holds an MA in Sports History from De Montfort University.