Remarkable Rugby Grounds: An illustrated guide book, with photography of the world’s most splendid sports stadiums

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The Stade Marcel Michelin, home of Clermont Auvergne, is one of the toughest grounds to visit in European rugby (Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) A stranger who’d been asleep for 100 years would wonder what had landed in the centre of one of Paris’ toughest suburbs. For some it will be a giant, cacophonous international stadium where only the elite get to do battle in front of entire nations. For others, there's no place like a traditional old club rugby ground where the intimacy and unique atmosphere on the terraces are what make the game what it is. We travel ‘Around the World in 80 pitches’ with grounds in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, Alaska, Argentina, Romania, along with the Six Nations venues.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.Along with Webb Ellis’s innovation, the invention of the oval-shaped ball took the game forward. Richard Lindon was a boot and ball maker with premises close to Rugby School. The Rugby boys wanted an oval ball to distinguish their game from the bounders playing association football, so Lindon devised an egg-shaped bladder with four stitched panels that would evolve into the modern rugby ball. But Murrayfield can still boast rare fervour, especially when England come to town, and the two-mile trek from the city centre to the ground, with a number of bars and restaurants en route, can be part of the matchday experience. Launched as rugby hits fever pitch for the 2023 World Cup, Remarkable Rugby Grounds is the perfect title for a literate and affluent armchair rugby market.

In 1932 the stadium was named in honour of Loftus Versfeld, who had instigated the development of organised sports in Pretoria. 7. Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane The Athletic Ground has been home to Richmond since 1889 and London Scottish since 1894. It is situated on the edge of Old Deer Park, a historic sporting complex sandwiched between the town and the River Thames that also hosts a lido, golf club, London Welsh RFC, and the King’s Observatory. A ceremony takes place ahead of a Rugby World Cup Pool D match at Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium Photograph: Newscom/Alamy Kamaishi City Stadium, Japan For his efforts, in 1861 Lindon was recognised as the principal Foot-Ball Maker to Rugby School, Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin Universities. He called his creation the Big-Side Match Ball, which was successfully manufactured by both Richard Lindon and, subsequently, his son, Hughes John Lindon, for half a century. Porth Harlequins RFC in South Wales Photograph: Kevin Rudge/HarperCollins Welfare Ground, Porth, south Wales

There were high fences around the pitch and the rabid Catalan support made it the toughest place for opponents to win in France. Might it be Haven Oval, home to the Terrigal Trojans in NSW, with its glorious ocean view of the South Pacific and its elevated strip of land at one end? Two visits here for this writer and two outstanding occasions witnessed – namely the first Test between Australia and the Lions in 2001 and the England v Wales World Cup quarter-final two years later.