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This Is Your Everest: The Lions, The Springboks and the Epic Tour of 1997
The 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa is one of the most iconic in rugby history. Written off at home and abroad, Martin Johnson's men were given no hope of success against the world champion Springboks in their own back yard. But a combination of brilliant coaching, astute selections and outstanding players laid the foundations for the touring side's outstanding attacking mindset and brutal stonewall defence.
On the other side was a team expected to stamp their authority on the tourists and confirm their place as the best side in the world. But with political, racial and economic scandals swirling around the Springbok camp, plus a rookie coach parachuted into place just before the tour began, the hosts were under huge pressure.
In a Test series that will go down in ages as one of the most compelling of all time, the sides could barely be separated. This is the inside story from both camps as they battle for supremacy, lifting the lid like never before as a huge cast of characters look back on those extraordinary weeks and the impact it had on their lives and careers thereafter. Hilarious, insightful and spine-chilling, Tom English and Peter Burns provide the perfect read ahead of the Lions return to South Africa in 2021.
On the other side was a team expected to stamp their authority on the tourists and confirm their place as the best side in the world. But with political, racial and economic scandals swirling around the Springbok camp, plus a rookie coach parachuted into place just before the tour began, the hosts were under huge pressure.
In a Test series that will go down in ages as one of the most compelling of all time, the sides could barely be separated. This is the inside story from both camps as they battle for supremacy, lifting the lid like never before as a huge cast of characters look back on those extraordinary weeks and the impact it had on their lives and careers thereafter. Hilarious, insightful and spine-chilling, Tom English and Peter Burns provide the perfect read ahead of the Lions return to South Africa in 2021.
- GenresNonfictionSports
320 pages, Hardcover
Published July 27, 2021
28 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Tom English
6 books3 followersTom English (born 8 March 1991) is an Australian rugby union footballer who plays as a centre or wing for the Melbourne Rebels.
English is a former Australia Sevens representative. In 2011, he was named at inside centre for Sydney University in the final of the Shute Shield. The side was to be captained by Rebels flanker Tim Davidson.
In late 2012 English joined the Melbourne Rebels Extended Playing Squad. He stayed with the Rebels into 2013 and was named on the bench to play the Western Force in Round 1 and ACT Brumbies for Round 2 but didn't play. He made his Super Rugby debut when he replaced inside centre Rory Sidey against the Reds in Round 4. Seven weeks later he started on the right wing and played 58 minutes before being replaced by Lachlan Mitchell.
In 2014, English faced competition for a place in the Rebels centres from Mitch Inman and New Zealand import Tamati Ellison.
In May 2014 English was invited to train with the Wallaby squad preparing for series against France.
English is a former Australia Sevens representative. In 2011, he was named at inside centre for Sydney University in the final of the Shute Shield. The side was to be captained by Rebels flanker Tim Davidson.
In late 2012 English joined the Melbourne Rebels Extended Playing Squad. He stayed with the Rebels into 2013 and was named on the bench to play the Western Force in Round 1 and ACT Brumbies for Round 2 but didn't play. He made his Super Rugby debut when he replaced inside centre Rory Sidey against the Reds in Round 4. Seven weeks later he started on the right wing and played 58 minutes before being replaced by Lachlan Mitchell.
In 2014, English faced competition for a place in the Rebels centres from Mitch Inman and New Zealand import Tamati Ellison.
In May 2014 English was invited to train with the Wallaby squad preparing for series against France.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 17, 2022
De tour van vorig jaar naar Zuid-Afrika werd natuurlijk overschaduwd door Covid en eindigde in een 2-1 nederlaag voor The Lions. De laatste keer dat The Lions de serie wisten te binnen van ‘De Bokke’ was in 1997 onder leiding van captain Martin Johnson. De tour was niet alleen legendarisch omdat het de eerste in het professionele tijdperk was maar misschien meer nog door de documentaire die gemaakt werd onder de titel ‘Living with Lions’ en die gezien wordt als één van de beste sportdocumentaires ooit. Mocht je de DVD ergens kunnen vinden, meteen kopen!!
Tom English en Peter Burns die tal van rugbyboeken op hun naam hebben schreven eerder samen ‘When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971’ en hebben met ‘This is your Everest’ een huzarenstukje geleverd. Ze spraken bijna alle Lions en een groot deel van de testspelers van Zuid-Afrika en dat leverde een prachtig verslag op. De verhalen zijn geweldig en vooral de testwedstrijden worden minutieus verteld. Het was de eerste Lionstour sinds 1974 dus de veranderde politieke situatie komt ruim voorbij en de strubbelingen binnen de Zuid-Afrikaanse bond en het team levert ook interessante leesstof op.
This is your Everest ontleent haar titel aan de befaamde speech van Jim Telfer, de assistent-coach Ian McGeechan voor de eerste test tegen de Bokke op 21 juni. De speech wordt gezien als één van de meest inspirerende ooit en de voorwaartsen die er destijds in stilte bijzaten kunnen hem vaak nog woord voor woord herhalen. Het boek ademt pure rugtbybelevenis uit en is in een wereld die nu gedomineerd wordt door social media een heerlijke ontsnapping. De ‘fly on the wall’ beschrijving van English en Burns is een absolute aanrader.
Natuurlijk bestel je dit boek bij je plaatselijke boekhandel, zo steunen we de lokale ondernemer.
Tom English en Peter Burns die tal van rugbyboeken op hun naam hebben schreven eerder samen ‘When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971’ en hebben met ‘This is your Everest’ een huzarenstukje geleverd. Ze spraken bijna alle Lions en een groot deel van de testspelers van Zuid-Afrika en dat leverde een prachtig verslag op. De verhalen zijn geweldig en vooral de testwedstrijden worden minutieus verteld. Het was de eerste Lionstour sinds 1974 dus de veranderde politieke situatie komt ruim voorbij en de strubbelingen binnen de Zuid-Afrikaanse bond en het team levert ook interessante leesstof op.
This is your Everest ontleent haar titel aan de befaamde speech van Jim Telfer, de assistent-coach Ian McGeechan voor de eerste test tegen de Bokke op 21 juni. De speech wordt gezien als één van de meest inspirerende ooit en de voorwaartsen die er destijds in stilte bijzaten kunnen hem vaak nog woord voor woord herhalen. Het boek ademt pure rugtbybelevenis uit en is in een wereld die nu gedomineerd wordt door social media een heerlijke ontsnapping. De ‘fly on the wall’ beschrijving van English en Burns is een absolute aanrader.
Natuurlijk bestel je dit boek bij je plaatselijke boekhandel, zo steunen we de lokale ondernemer.
July 17, 2023
This is a brilliant read that's interesting and entertaining. One of the best rugby books I've read.
November 16, 2025
📦 A rivalry rekindled. A series reborn. A team climbing its hardest psychological terrain.
💥 A narrative of endurance where the mountain is metaphor and memory.
📍 1997 British & Irish Lions tour — living rooms, locker rooms, and high altitude pressure.
🗝 Adversity, unity, redemption. English and Burns capture the fragility of belief when the odds lean the other way. This is sporting history told as ascent — setbacks, recalibrations, and the rare feeling of a group becoming more than its individuals.
What if the hardest climb was not physical but the ascent of belief itself?
English and Burns reconstruct the Lions’ 1997 tour with forensic detail and narrative flair. The book’s cadence is that of a climb: pressure mounting, setbacks endured, unity forged in fear. It is sporting history reframed as myth, where every tackle is a foothold, every anthem a breath at altitude. The mountain is metaphor, but the endurance is real — a study of character under unforgiving expectation.
If you like sports histories that treat matches as myths, this delivers the same moral resonance as dramas where collective triumph is the plot.
💭 “Some battles are won by refusing to descend.”
💭 “A team becomes a team when fear is carried, not hidden.”
📚 Why @KlacksReads recommends: Because it delivers narrative tension without melodrama — a hymn to resilience, and a reminder that belief itself is the hardest summit.
@KlacksReads · London · 14 November 2025
💥 A narrative of endurance where the mountain is metaphor and memory.
📍 1997 British & Irish Lions tour — living rooms, locker rooms, and high altitude pressure.
🗝 Adversity, unity, redemption. English and Burns capture the fragility of belief when the odds lean the other way. This is sporting history told as ascent — setbacks, recalibrations, and the rare feeling of a group becoming more than its individuals.
What if the hardest climb was not physical but the ascent of belief itself?
English and Burns reconstruct the Lions’ 1997 tour with forensic detail and narrative flair. The book’s cadence is that of a climb: pressure mounting, setbacks endured, unity forged in fear. It is sporting history reframed as myth, where every tackle is a foothold, every anthem a breath at altitude. The mountain is metaphor, but the endurance is real — a study of character under unforgiving expectation.
If you like sports histories that treat matches as myths, this delivers the same moral resonance as dramas where collective triumph is the plot.
💭 “Some battles are won by refusing to descend.”
💭 “A team becomes a team when fear is carried, not hidden.”
📚 Why @KlacksReads recommends: Because it delivers narrative tension without melodrama — a hymn to resilience, and a reminder that belief itself is the hardest summit.
@KlacksReads · London · 14 November 2025
August 16, 2022
I love this book. The '97 tour coincided with my leaving school. It was an epic tour that really in hindsight really did mark the point between two eras, of amateurism and professionalism.
The emotion, the power, the character of top class sport really came through.
In many ways it's a remarkable story of 4 nations coming together, starting slowly, being highly underfancied against a dominant world champion opposition yet primarily through strength of character and a remarkable coaching team, managed to find the way to win (even if they rode their luck at times).
And as for the Bokke hubris and arrogance, it remains as hilarious as ever.
The emotion, the power, the character of top class sport really came through.
In many ways it's a remarkable story of 4 nations coming together, starting slowly, being highly underfancied against a dominant world champion opposition yet primarily through strength of character and a remarkable coaching team, managed to find the way to win (even if they rode their luck at times).
And as for the Bokke hubris and arrogance, it remains as hilarious as ever.
March 26, 2022
A ‘Must’ For All Rugby Fans
Great story of an outstanding group of players achieving a magnificent series victory in South Africa.
Well told it takes you inside the touring party, what they thought and their experiences.
Even though you know the outcome the story still holds you.
Great story of an outstanding group of players achieving a magnificent series victory in South Africa.
Well told it takes you inside the touring party, what they thought and their experiences.
Even though you know the outcome the story still holds you.
November 2, 2025
Read this before the Lions tour this summer and was awesome man. The interviews from both sides are simply fantastic. Magnificent how they weave together so many perspectives. Really captures the scale of the series. Painted such a great image with their words. Love love love. Would recommend to any sports fan, never mind a rugby fan.
June 5, 2023
i have watched the DVD a 100 plus times and i amd rugby nut
loved the book. the DVD took us to a new level of rugby and the book does it all over again
loved the book. the DVD took us to a new level of rugby and the book does it all over again
August 12, 2021
The epic British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1997. If you have watched Life with the Lions and enjoyed the insight into test rugby when the amateur player was moving into the professional game - you will eat this book up.
Tom English and Peter Burns have tracked down and interviewed the key players and back room staff from both sides and revisited the heady days. The speeches are there , the reactions and the pain for all to see.
One of the best books on Rugby Union and those who play the game I have read.
Tom English and Peter Burns have tracked down and interviewed the key players and back room staff from both sides and revisited the heady days. The speeches are there , the reactions and the pain for all to see.
One of the best books on Rugby Union and those who play the game I have read.
May 3, 2024
This Is Your Everest by Tom English and Pete Burns is an absolute belter of a story, telling how a not-well-fancied touring Lions side defeated the Rugby World Cup Champions South Africa in 1997. This one is 5⭐️ from me.
I read this book after The Grudge, and whilst I absolutely loved that book, This is Your Everest was a cut above. This book is about the legendary 1997 British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa, two years after SA had won the World Cup at home and Nelson Mandela had presented the cup to the captain of a nation united behind their Springbok side. I started this book during the 2021 Lions Tour to South Africa, and finished it whilst on honeymoon in South Africa, which added another layer to feeling immersed in this story and learning about the history of the country and this sport in particular.
I think it's fair to say that rugby has a really important role in uniting South Africans that began in 1995 with the World Cup win, and continues to this day. English & Burns do a fantastic job laying out the happenings of 1995 and it's importance politically and culturally to SA, and then the history and biography of the players and coaches involved in the 1997 Tour. I found particularly the background to SA and the Springboks fascinating and riveting.
But equally, I loved seeing more of Geech and Telfer, the coaching duo from The Grudge, and their different approach to the Lions than their home team Scotland. And we got loads of insight into the Lions touring side, and their dynamic and biography which I loved.
This book just blew me out of the water and I loved every minute of it. I recommend this to anyone with more interest in SA as a rugby nation, as well as anyone who ever wondered why a Lions Tour is special.
I read this book after The Grudge, and whilst I absolutely loved that book, This is Your Everest was a cut above. This book is about the legendary 1997 British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa, two years after SA had won the World Cup at home and Nelson Mandela had presented the cup to the captain of a nation united behind their Springbok side. I started this book during the 2021 Lions Tour to South Africa, and finished it whilst on honeymoon in South Africa, which added another layer to feeling immersed in this story and learning about the history of the country and this sport in particular.
I think it's fair to say that rugby has a really important role in uniting South Africans that began in 1995 with the World Cup win, and continues to this day. English & Burns do a fantastic job laying out the happenings of 1995 and it's importance politically and culturally to SA, and then the history and biography of the players and coaches involved in the 1997 Tour. I found particularly the background to SA and the Springboks fascinating and riveting.
But equally, I loved seeing more of Geech and Telfer, the coaching duo from The Grudge, and their different approach to the Lions than their home team Scotland. And we got loads of insight into the Lions touring side, and their dynamic and biography which I loved.
This book just blew me out of the water and I loved every minute of it. I recommend this to anyone with more interest in SA as a rugby nation, as well as anyone who ever wondered why a Lions Tour is special.
June 16, 2021
A brilliant read
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews