As someone who developed an obsession with sport from an early age, I’ve read more than my fair share of sports literature. Sports books tend to glamorise the wealthy and successful players and teams, if you’re after something similar then this book is most certainly not for you. ‘Underdogs’ is a story of financial hardship, of struggles on and off the field and of a community that gets behind its local team of unfancied players.

‘Underdogs’ is written by Tony Hannan, a journalist who specialises in British popular culture. Throughout the entire 2016 season Hannan was given unprecedented access to the players, coaches and staff at Batley who all tell the story of a quite remarkable campaign. Hannan gets to experience every match, every training session, every team huddle which helps paint a detailed picture of one of the oldest teams in British sport.

Batley were once a team to be feared. Founded back in 1880, they used to draw crowds of 20,000 at their home stadium. Nowadays things are very different. Unlike most teams in their division, Batley’s players aren’t fully professional, meaning they all work regular jobs as well as turn up to training three times a week. Their days off are spent travelling up and down the country taking on teams with much bigger financial clout, such as London Broncos and Leigh Centurions.

2016 was quite a season for Batley. Before the campaign even began they became headline news across the world when their captain, Keegan Hirst, announced he was gay, thus becoming the only active rugby league player to come out. Hirst talks openly about his years of denial, the break-up of his marriage, his two children and the support he received from teammates.

There’s an undercurrent of humour that runs throughout this book. You can’t help but laugh at the way Hannan gets the best out of his interviewees, especially Batley’s Chairman Kevin Nicholas, who, if he wasn’t running a rugby club, would surely have made a successful career out of stand-up comedy.

Another prominent character in the book is the Batley Head Coach, John Kear. Kear is remembered by many as the man who masterminded perhaps the greatest shock in modern professional sport when his unheralded Sheffield team stunned the mighty Wigan Warriors to win the 1998 Challenge Cup final at Wembley. Hannan gets to spend a lot of time with Kear, and he paints a great picture of one of the best coaches in the sport. It’s a fascinating insight into the mind of a coach who has achieved just about everything there is to achieve in the sport, but still has the same passion and dedication as when he started coaching nearly three decades ago.

‘Underdogs’ isn’t just about the rugby club though, it’s a story of working-class culture and a northern town struggling to come to grips with its financial hardships. We learn that infrastructure and core values are just as important as money. I’d recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in sport. You don’t need to be an expert in rugby to appreciate the story of Batley Rugby Club, a perfect example of a club at the heart of their community, one that fights for every tackle and genuinely cares about its supporters.