Jason Leonard

With honesty and personal vunerability, Jason Leonard openly shares the hurts of his past and uses the pain as a platform upon which others can find fresh faith and renewed courage. Physical and emotional scars represent a story, a moment in one's life, and they show others that there is a history and healing. Your internal scars- invisible marks from heartbreak, mistakes, losses and disappointments- also represent stories of healing and restoration. Adopted at birth, Jason grew up in Wheaton Maryland. At the tender age of 18 he suffered a traumatic brain injury that changed the course of his life. Now at the age of 36 he is ready to tell his story. It's a story of courage, strength and the will to survive tragedy. Allow Jason to take you into his world, through his eyes and unique humor.

I Did It, I Proved You Wrong You, You, You and You, In the Back

Leonard’s story starts as rugby started – in the amateur days, when the Cockney Carpenter began playing for Barking and Saracens in the days before multi-million pound business owners and sponsorship deals. His big break came when he was invited to join the England squad for their tour to Argentina in 1990 and has been capped 100 times. It was a tour that precipitated one of the greatest periods in the history of the British game, and Leonard provides a compelling insight into life behind the international scenes with England and the Lions, as well as the domestic game through his time at Saracens and Harlequins. Once told that he would never walk again after undergoing life-saving surgery on his neck, Leonard describes the torment he went through during this period – both physical and financial – and how he fought against all the odds to re-establish himself on the international stage. With 100 Test caps won to date, and a career in rugby union spanning two decades, there is no more experienced player in the modern game. Leonard has plenty to tell about the people he has met during his career – Rob Andrew, Will Carling, Lawrence Dallaglio, Brian Moore, Dick Best and Clive Woodward all feature – and with nicknames like 'The Fun Bus' and 'The Scourge of the Barking Barmaids' the stories are as colourful and controversial as the man himself. All is revealed in this fascinating portrait of an English rugby legend who also reflects upon England's 2002 Six Nations campaign, his hopes for his international future and a tough year for Quins.

The Autobiography

Stephen Cooper

As Britain’s Empire went to war in August 1914, rugby players were the first to volunteer. They led from the front and paid a disproportionate price. In 1919, a grateful Mother Country hosted a rugby tournament: sevens teams at eight venues, playing 17 matches to declare a first ‘world champion’. There had never been an international team tournament like it. For the first time teams from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Britain and France were assembled in one place. Rugby held the first ever ‘World Cup’. It was a moment of triumph, a celebration of military victory, of Commonwealth and Allied unity, and of rugby values, moral and physical. In 2019 the modern Rugby World Cup moves to Japan in the Centenary of the King’s Cup. With a foreword by Jason Leonard, this is the story of rugby’s journey through the First World War to its first World Cup, and how those values endure today. 'After The Final Whistle' was shortlisted for the 2016 Cross Sports Book of the Year award.

Jason Leonard

Books

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