English Rugby: A Celebration by Ted Barrett
Roger Uttley, Bill Beaumont, Dusty Hare, Will Carling - rugby is such an integral part of English life that the names run off the tongue. The magic of Twickenham itself exerts a magnetism strong enough to pull crowds from all corners of the world. In English Rugby: A Celebration a distinguished group of Rugby Union correspondents from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - John Mason, Charles Randall and Graham Tait - joins a host of eminent rugby writers such as Chris Rea and Terry Cooper, to examine all that makes English rugby the passionately followed sport that it is. This illustrated volume covers the English game from its earliest origins through to the 1991 rugby World Cup, taking very much a grassroots approach. John Reason, for instance, talks frankly about the national selectors while Chalkie White speaks out about coaching both at club and national level. With pieces from writers and players from all seven Test match nations and profiles of a special select England XV, chosen from the most outstanding players of the last thirty years - including an article on the best uncapped player of our time - the emphasis is very much on the game as it is played today and on where it is moving to in years to come.