Jason Leonard: The Autobiography

by Jason Leonard, Alison Kervin

The rag-to-riches tale of rugby union's most capped forward of all time - how a brilliant young player overcame a life-threatening injury to make it to the very top of the international game.Jason 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.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 scenes with England and his new club Harlequins as the personal records continued to tumble.Rob Andrew, Will Carling, Lawrence Dallaglio, Brian Moore, Dick Best and Clive Woodward are just some of the high-profile characters of whom Leonard has plenty of stories to tell. He also recalls some of the greats such as David Campese and Jonah Lomu, whom he has played with or against on Lions tours, for the Barbarians and in three World Cups.Once told that he would never walk again after undergoing life-saving surgery on neck, Leonard describes the torment he went through during this period, and how he fought against all the odds to re-establish himself on the international stage. With more than 80 Test caps to his name to date and a career in rugby union spanning two decades, there is no more experienced player in the modern game. With nicknames like "The Fun Bus" and "The Scourge of the Barking Barmaids", Leonard has lived a colourful and at times controversial life. All is revealed in this portrait of an English rugbylegend.

Genres: Autobiography

400 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2002

Reviews

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the all time great rugby union players, quite simply a legend. His career successfully spanned the period where rugby union went from an amateur to a professional sport. I met him once and he was a total gentleman although he fails to mention our meeting in the book. It was in the Hilton in Cardiff. Strange he doesn't mention it!

[Mr Michael R Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Of The Better Ones

Jason Leonard - The Fun Bus - one man who encapsulates everything good about rugby.
His story is told in a straightforward way, matter of factly but with great humour and humility.
Fully deserving all the accolades this is his story.
Give it a go.

[Craig Hoare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great man, great player, not a great book!

[Jordan Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s alright. A bit light on some of the stories and on field details but a perfectly enjoyable read.

[russell barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sports 'auto' biographies are a funny beast; you rarely get anything insightful, they're easy to pick holes in and if it wasn't for the picture on the cover and those liberally spread about inside it would be difficult to tell them apart from each other.

Credit to Alison Kervin then for pulling together Jason Leonard's quite readable and insightful book. Okay, there's plenty of the usual mish-mash of x, y AND z all being the pinnacle of my career, but generally Leonard's thoughts on rugby and the ethos of the game are worth reading. Particularly with a bit of hindsight as this was published at least 10 years ago - pre winning the World Cup - and it's fascinating to see a lot of what he talks about coming true now.

Worth digging out and spending £2 on in Oxfam if you spot it.

[Skull · Rating 5 out of 5]

although covering a similar period of time to Brian Moore's autobiography, this is considerably better! There is however a surprising lack of information or mention of his years at Harlequins Rugby which I found surprising (but welcome!)

[Jack Fleming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, too many match reports and not enough insight or behind-the-scenes information. Odd for such a character.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

what a nice bloke