Lions and Falcons: My Diary of a Remarkable Year

by Jonny Wilkinson

Jonny Wilkinson has set the rugby world alight since his international debut in 1998. In this revealing diary of the 2000-01 season, he takes the reader behind the scenes of his career at Newcastle Falcons, England and on to the British Lions tour to Australia in summer 2001. He talks about the players' strike in November, the foot and mouth crisis, his preparation for the matches, training, what really goes on on the pitch - and provides a fascinating insight into his life away from the rugby field. LIONS AND FALCONS builds up to a riveting portrait of the modern professional rugby world, viewed from the very pinnacle of the sport.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Former rugby union player for England, British & Irish Lions, Newcastle Falcons and Rugby Club Toulonnais.

Reviews

[Andrew Cockcroft-Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Diary of a winner. I can only imagine what this mindset would be like in other disciplines. It seems that, retrospectively, rugby alone could not handle Wilkinson’s weight of ambition.

[Mike Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm English and a rugby fan so obviously Jonny Wilkinson is like a god in my opinion. Without him we wouldn't have won the World Cup in 2003 nor reached the final in 2007. Hopefully he'll still be around in 2011 to do the business again for us.



This book is a personal account of the 2000/01 season - a season he spent with Newcastle and they won their first silverware. England remained unbeaten all season as well and then Jonny was one of the stars of the ill-fated Lions tour to Australia led by Graham Henry.



At times, the book does become a list of results and descriptions of matches which doesn't inspire when a season or tour review on DVD would do much better. However, what the book does provide is Wilknson's personal insight into the events as they unfold and anecdotes about the social side that was still evident in professional rugby at the beginning of the last decade.



If you're still interested in the arguments and complaints that took place between the players and the coaches on the 2001 Lions tour then you'll enjoy this book. If you hold Wilkinson up as a diety then again you'll enjoy this book. If you're not a hardnosed rugby fan then probably don't bother with it.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

As his first book, about a year that couldn't have gone better for him and the team's he played for, this was a wonderful insight into the life of my hero!