Scroll through any club’s social media account and you’ll see pictures of perfectly timed tackles, muddy grins, team huddles, and all of the emotions of victories as well as defeats. These are moments that would otherwise disappear into memory. The photographers who capture grassroots rugby are everywhere, yet somehow invisible at the same time. 

These magicians serve as silent contributors and historians for our great game. Without them, much of clubland’s history would simply fade away into memory. We know their work and we rely on it, but we rarely hear their stories. 

Bottom of the Ruck recently caught up with James Booth from James Booth Photography to shine a light on his work. The original plan was to write the entire article formed around his story, but the Q&A session landed so well that I decided to publish it as is. 

1. What first sparked your interest in photography and how did that eventually lead you to shooting rugby?

I had always wanted to get into photography, with DSLR’s not phones, but the cost was out of my league until I was gifted the money to buy my first camera body and lens through a birthday present. I started out taking local sports pics at football and cricket and was approached by a local grass roots company, YourSportSwindon, who took me on and got me out and about. They covered Swindon RFC and my love for Rugby was born. From there I became a club photographer with Royal Wooten Bassett RFC and also shoot for Rugby for Heroes and Dorset and Wiltshire Senior Women.

2. What is your personal rugby background and how has that shaped the way you capture the game through your lens?

Here’s the weird thing I guess, I have never played or been interested in Rugby until I picked up a camera. I was a round ball man at heart, yeah I know how dare I lol. I am not sure but I think this shapes my photography work more as not having a playing background I had to learn what to see and when, the plays, the calls and the players look knowing what is going to happen and when (I still miss it now after all these years). As a good friend of mine will tell you regularly, Happiness is Eggshaped, and I am very happy with rugby now.

3. You’ve photographed matches from grassroots clubs all the way to elite competitions. What differences stand out to you between those environments, both on and off the field?

I love both if I am being honest, but I honestly prefer the grassroot club level games, as grassroots rugby feels more personal. The higher up you shoot the more expected it is for a photographer to be there, and more than one as well, but at grassroots level you turn up and it’s like wow we have a photographer, best look good today then. You are documenting the club’s history through thick and thin forever, something that only happens at the higher elite levels normally. Post games, I process the images and get them online at the top end games, but at grassroots I can be in the changing room celebrating a big win/promotion with them or in the clubhouse for a beer with the chairman, or watching the players celebrate a beer with their opposite number post-game on the last day of the season.

4. Grassroots rugby runs on volunteers and community spirit. From your perspective on the sidelines, what makes club rugby special?

Grassroots rugby has this magic that polished, professional environments can’t quite replicate. When you stand on the touchline at a club ground, you’re not just watching a sport — you’re watching a community express itself. No one’s chasing contracts or headlines. Players turn up after long work weeks, coaches give up evenings, and volunteers run everything from the bar to the line flags. That shared choice creates a kind of authenticity you don’t find everywhere. The sidelines are a tapestry of the club’s history from former players who can’t quite stay away to old boys telling stories that get more heroic every season. It’s living heritage, not nostalgia. Grassroots rugby feels special because it’s rugby in its purest form: people coming together to create something bigger than themselves.

5. Is there a particular moment, match, or photograph that stands out as especially meaningful to you — and why?

Too many come to mind if I am honest, from the promotion game that got us into Region 1 Central, knowing we were going to play teams like London Welsh and Wimbledon, shooting for Dorset and Wiltshire senior Women beat Sussex in the County Championship Gill Burns Division Three final match at Twickenham, to covering the Doddie Weir lads as they cycled their way to Italy to take the match ball for the Italy vs Scotland game. The pictures that these moments produced for me and the clubs are priceless, memories that are recorded forever in games that may never be repeated. And then there are the moments the players take my cameras off me and capture me as part of the celebrations, making sure I am recorded in the club’s history forever as well, now that is the heart of grassroots rugby.

6. What do you think people outside the game misunderstand about grassroots rugby and what would you want them to see through your photos?

What a question to finish on, wow. I think people outside the game think grassroots is just a hobby or an amateur sport. They miss out on the fact it is commitment, pride, and identity woven into a jersey. I think they believe it is slow, scrappy rugby but in truth is fierce, with rivalries beyond others and fast, fierce rugby with collisions to make you cringe and tactical play that will make you ask yourself what level you are really watching. It’s not watered-down elite rugby, its rugby with the rough edges left on. As for my photos, I hope they show the passion, the energy and the love through muddy faced smiles for each other and the game, or an arm around a team mate post-game. Grassroots rugby isn’t glossy, and that’s exactly why it’s compelling. I hope my images capture the rawness and the grit and the emotion that drives me and everyone else to watch it week on week in any weather, or my fellow photographers that are out there covering some amazing grassroots clubs like me all season long.

Today’s match photos are tomorrow’s club history. They hang in clubhouses, resurface on social media via anniversary posts, and remind former players of a time when their boots were laced and their bodies still cooperated. 

The people behind those images are quietly building the visual legacy of grassroots rugby. Don’t let that effort go unnoticed. Make it a habit to thank your photographers every chance you get and if given the opportunity, grab them a drink in the clubhouse after the match. 

To see more of James Booth’s work or buy him a coffee, you can find him at the following locations:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

If your club has a grassroots hero, like James, that you’d like to see featured on Bottom of the Ruck, contact us and we’ll get the conversation started!