Final Scrum: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Second World War

by Nigel McCrery, Michael Rowe

After the terrible losses of The Great War, twenty years later the Second World War resulted in the death of some of the finest sporting icons. This book honors the ninety International Rugby players who lost their lives. Fifteen were Scottish, fourteen English, eleven Welsh and eight Irish. Australia and New Zealand suffered with ten and two Internationals killed respectively and France eight. Germany topped the list with nineteen. In the same way that the Authors best-selling Into Touch remembered the 130 Internationals lost in the First World War, Final Scrum gives an individual biography of each of the ninety with their international and club playing record as well as their backgrounds, details of their military careers and circumstances of their death. We learn where they are buried or commemorated together with at least one photograph of each player.Rugby enthusiasts will find this book a fascinating and moving record of the sacrifice of the finest young men of their generation who fought in the second worldwide conflict of the 20th Century.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2018

About the author

Nigel Colin McCrery was an English screenwriter, producer and writer. He was the creator of the long-running crime dramas Silent Witness (1996–present) and New Tricks (2003–2015).

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the 58 international rugby players who lost their lives during the Second World War. It gives a short biography on each player which includes his schooling, his rugby career and each test he played in as well as his wartime service and tragic end. It is hard to imagine any sportsman volunteering for the military in this day and age as these brave men, and countless other sportsmen, did during a time of crisis. This book is highly recommended and I wish people of my generation would read this to see what real heroes look like. Will definitely read more of Nigel McCrery's books about sportsmen during the World Wars.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final Scrum – A Great Book for Rugby Lovers and Historians

Nigel McCrery and Michael Rowe have produced a fascinating account of International Rugby Players during the Second World War. As with any book that Nigel McCrery is involved with the research is second to none, with no stone left unturned.

This book honours the fifty-eight international rugby players that were killed during the Second World War. Of those that died. Fourteen were Scottish, another fourteen were English, three were Welsh and eight were Irish. While France had eight killed, Australia nine and New Zealand two.

Final Scrum gives each of these fifty-eight players an individual biography with a picture as well as their playing careers at club and international level. It also lists their military care during the war along with the circumstances of their tragic deaths.

There are some interesting characters within these pages, such Pilot Officer Prince Alexander Obolensky, a Russian aristocrat whose family has sought sanctuary in this country. When asked by the then King Edward VIII ‘By what right to you play for England’ he replied, ‘I played for Oxford University, Sir.’ As well as playing for England he also turned out for the British Lions.

Or the case of Patrick Munro MP, who at 58 was killed in May 1942, but was killed in a training accident with the Home Guard, and he had turned out thirteen times for Scotland. Of course, the most famous Scottish ex-player killed during the was Eric Liddell, more famous for his stance at the Olympics and for being a missionary, still played seven times for Scotland.

This really is an excellent book for the rugby lover.