Bill Bush has a life story unlike any other All Black. A kina diver at primary school, a labourer at the Marsden Point refinery at 14, it took a promise of a Fanta and a pie to get him to play rugby, a sport he initially reckoned was too rough for him. The reluctant warrior became a fearsome, revered All Black prop, and captained and coached the Māori All Blacks. His insights on rugby, and its place in New Zealand life, are unique. The journey Bill takes readers on is not all about playing rugby but explains his whakapapa (lineage), his upbringing, his beliefs, and hopefully demonstrates that there are other ways to get on in life and to be successful. Bill offers some simple life lessons: don't get trapped into seeing the grass as being greener on the other side of the fence. Stand tall and proud alongside others; enjoy the simple things in life along with your successes, however small they may be. Embrace the things you enjoy as a valued New Zealander by focusing on simple goals with honesty, hard work, and determination.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the first game of rugby in New Zealand in Nelson; this book will celebrate 150 years of New Zealand's national game, the game more than any other that has helped shape the New Zealand psyche and identity. It will take the form of 150 short stories – stories about the players, the teams, the provinces, the trophies, everything that helped make the game what it is, from the first in the horse and buggy days to the latest in the days of ultra-modern technology. It will talk of players who no one living saw play; and it will talk of players who are recognised wherever they go in the widening rugby world. And who can talk of players and resist speculating who the greatest of all might have been? It's opinions and speculation that make up some of the enduring appeal of the game New Zealanders are (mostly) better at than anyone else.

The Big O by Patrick Skene is the story of Olsen Filipaina, a New Zealand Hall of Fame rugby league legend who was a pathfinder for the Maori and Pasifika players who today dominate the Australian National Rugby League. In a career that saw him play 29 Tests for New Zealand and more than 100 first grade NSWRL games, Filipaina was an object of fascination for the rugby league community. To fans he was "the Galloping Garbo", a working-class hero who thrilled crowds in between shifts as a garbageman. To opponents, who feared his Polynesian power game, he was The Big O. To coaches and critics, he was simply "Olsen the enigma". Featured in the book are some of the pivotal figures of 1980s Australia and New Zealand sport including Sir Graham Lowe, Arthur Beetson, Roy Masters, Sir Peter Leitch, David Tua, Sir Bryan Williams, Wayne Pearce, Sir Michael Jones, John Ribot, Mark Graham, David Lange and NRL Immortal Wally Lewis who for the first time opens up about being outplayed by Filipaina in the 1985 Test series. The Big O tracks Olsen's story from his rise out of working-class South Auckland, to overcoming depression, racism and cultural dislocation in Sydney, to the Cinderella story of his success for the New Zealand Kiwis. Forty years after Filipaina burst into Australian rugby league, Skene relates the tale of a humble and principled man, a dynamic and magical pioneer of the 'Pacific Revolution'. The Big O' is a timely story of resilience, redemption, bravery and love. To understand Olsen's story is to understand the cultural changes that have reshaped the game of rugby league.