Tom English

Peter Burns

By 1971 no Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home bruised, battered and beaten. But the 1971 tour party was different. It was full of young, ambitious and outrageously talented players who would all go on to carve their names into the annals of sporting history during a golden period in British and Irish rugby. As the Test series loomed, it became clear that a clash that would echo through the ages was about to unfold. And at its conclusion, it was obvious to all that rugby would never be the same again.

Chasing the Impossible

Shortlised for the 2022 SBA Best Sports Book of the 21st Century prize The gripping inside story of when an England-Scotland rugby match become more than a game Murrayfield, the Calcutta Cup, March 1990. England vs. Scotland - winner-takes-all for the Five Nations Grand Slam, the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby. Will Carling's England are the very embodiment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain - snarling, brutish and all-conquering. Scotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high - what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch. Told with unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides (Will Carling, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore and the rest), Tom English has produced a gripping account of a titanic struggle that thrusts the reader right into the heart of the action. Game on. 'A priceless read' Guardian 'Absolutely outstanding' The Times 'An epic tale' Daily Telegraph 'Gripping' Scottish Review of Books

Scotland vs. England, 1990

The Grudge

Stephen Jones

Nick Cain

David Barnes

This enhanced edition contains match footage highlights from every tour from 1955 to 2009, additional photographs and text, as well as a statistical section and an abridged history of the Lions. This is the history of the British & Irish Lions... in their own words. For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a symbol of the ethics, values and romance at the heart of rugby union. To represent the Lions is the pinnacle for every international player in Britain and Ireland, and the dream of tens of thousands of avid fans who follow them. A Lions tour, undertaken every four years to the southern hemisphere, is more than a series of rugby matches played out on foreign fields; it is an epic crusade where the chosen few face a succession of mental and physical challenges on their way to the Test arena, where they do battle with the superpowers of the world game. Behind the Lions sees four esteemed rugby writers from each of the Home Nations delve to the very heart of what it means to be a Lion, using diaries and letters from those who pioneered the concept, to interviews with a vast array of players who have followed in their footsteps. In so doing they have uncovered the passion, pride and honour experienced when taking up the unique challenge of a Lions tour. This is a tale of heart-break and ecstasy, humour and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling. And it is the only story worth hearing: the players' own.

Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions

Behind the Lions [enhanced edition]

An account of the most famous Lions tour of the modern age, featuring brand-new interviews with both the Lions and Springboks players and management, as well as featuring thoughts on the tour from modern-day greats.

The Lions, the Springboks and the Epic Tour of 1997

This Is Your Everest

For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a peerless emblem in world sport. This unique account of the best from the four Home Nations examines every tour in the Lions' history, including the victorious 2013 tour to Hong Kong and Australia, told in the players' words. Behind the Lions sees rugby writers from across the Home Nations delve to the heart of what it means to be a Lion, interviewing a vast array of former and current players to uncover the passion, pride and exhilaration experienced when wearing the famous red jersey. It is a tale of heartbreak and ecstasy, humor and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling. This is the story of the British & Irish Lions in their own words.

Tom English

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