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Around the World in 80 Minutes: In Search of Rugby Greatness – A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A mesmerising, unforgettable journey around world rugby. '
Donald McRae – Twice Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
'Magnificent… a hugely intelligent and entertaining.'
Stuart Barnes, Sunday Times
'Really enjoyed it.'
Will Carling
'An absolutely marvellous book… Recommended heartily.'
Jonathan Drennan, Sydney Morning Herald
CONTRASTING CHARACTERS, COLLIDING CULTURES, THE SAME OVAL-SHAPED BALL. A JOURNEY TO FIND THE RUGBY'S MOST REMARKABLE PEOPLE, TEAMS AND PLACES.
What makes rugby special? Which individuals and teams have defined the modern game? Around the World in 80 Minutes charts the 'golden era' of global rugby union between 1973 and 2023 and goes in search of the sport's most influential trailblazers.
Robert Kitson, the Guardian 's long-time rugby union correspondent, assesses the game's current health, tracks down the battered gladiators of yesteryear and asks some pertinent questions. Does rugby retain its old rugged charm? What does its future look like? And what, ultimately, constitutes rugby 'greatness'?
Observant, amusing and thought-provoking, the journey takes in some of the game's more prominent names – including David Campese , Brian O'Driscoll , Maggie Alphonsi , Sean Fitzpatrick , Eddie Jones and Sir Clive Woodward – to reflect on rugby's intangible shared joy.
Millions of fans continue to find rugby maddeningly irresistible and endlessly compelling. This book is for them, and for anyone else wondering where the appeal lies.
Donald McRae – Twice Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
'Magnificent… a hugely intelligent and entertaining.'
Stuart Barnes, Sunday Times
'Really enjoyed it.'
Will Carling
'An absolutely marvellous book… Recommended heartily.'
Jonathan Drennan, Sydney Morning Herald
CONTRASTING CHARACTERS, COLLIDING CULTURES, THE SAME OVAL-SHAPED BALL. A JOURNEY TO FIND THE RUGBY'S MOST REMARKABLE PEOPLE, TEAMS AND PLACES.
What makes rugby special? Which individuals and teams have defined the modern game? Around the World in 80 Minutes charts the 'golden era' of global rugby union between 1973 and 2023 and goes in search of the sport's most influential trailblazers.
Robert Kitson, the Guardian 's long-time rugby union correspondent, assesses the game's current health, tracks down the battered gladiators of yesteryear and asks some pertinent questions. Does rugby retain its old rugged charm? What does its future look like? And what, ultimately, constitutes rugby 'greatness'?
Observant, amusing and thought-provoking, the journey takes in some of the game's more prominent names – including David Campese , Brian O'Driscoll , Maggie Alphonsi , Sean Fitzpatrick , Eddie Jones and Sir Clive Woodward – to reflect on rugby's intangible shared joy.
Millions of fans continue to find rugby maddeningly irresistible and endlessly compelling. This book is for them, and for anyone else wondering where the appeal lies.
- GenresNonfictionSports
272 pages, Hardcover
Published October 17, 2023
4 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 13, 2025
Ah yes, the great rugby nations of the world; New Zealand, South Africa, England and women
December 26, 2024
I do not normally read books on sport, I read and write enough sports stories each day to sate my hunger. However, this I made an exception for firstly because the author is one of the most urbane and grandest coves one could meet and equally importantly a very fine writer.
One is not disappointed on both counts in this cracking book in which Kitson takes us on a tour of the rugby globe speaking with some of the legends of the game, who in stark contrast to their footballing counterparts are eloquent and have excellent insight into the sport they adorned, they adored and are in the majority worried for its future.
Some literary giants Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James Joyce among them have played rugby, though, the latter rather gingerly which led another great chronicler of the sport Richard Beard to comment to Kitson: "Maybe its the way to make an artist: to introduce them to rugby as a young person. Give them a hard time of it, but later on they'll write Ulysses."
If only I murmur to myself that was my case!!
This book has everything from humour to honesty "I've never been a comic book hero, I've never been an arrogant bxxxxxd. I'm somewhere in between. With the same amount of flaws as anyone but riddled with insecurity as well," admits former England captain Will Carling.
There is also pathos as in the case of All Blacks great, prop Carl Hayman, who like many former players has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probably CTE. He believes a spell in Europe was probably a factor in his condition especially in France where forwards are treated like "tranches (slices of meat)." As he says there was never a conversation around the risks of taking constant hits to the head much to his regret. "In our era concussion was a bit of a badge of honour. You got knocked out and you could go back on the field. If you were aware of the damage you could potentially do, either from one of those or the repetitive hits over a long career...."
Michael Lynagh, Sir Clive Woodward, BOD (In BOD we trust) as in Brian O'Driscoll, Brendan Venter and Namibia's fearless flanker Jacques Burger are just some of the others who feature indeed the latter along with Samoa's Dan Leo as well as a Latvian international highlight what it is like playing for the poorer nations and it is not always the establishment at fault for their parlous state but their own rugby chiefs at home.
Leo recounts too what Samoa's 2007 World Cup pre-season training camp was like which would make any reader's eyes pop out in astonishment. "In one of our pre-World Cup camps they dropped us off on a deserted island. The idea was to make it a back-to-your roots experience. If you were New Zealand-born (like he was ) you got partnered up with one of the local players so that basically you didn't die."
This tome is engrossing and superbly written, the author's love for the game that entranced him as a young lad comes across on every line and frankly this is a sports book that transcends boundaries those not on the inside of the sport might question why players of all shapes and sizes and levels of abilities like to get hit hard week in week out and with the inherent risks attached.
The answer best summed up when the author puts it to former French captain and coach Philippe Saint-Andre, affectionately known as Piglet, 'I suggested to him that Peter Sellers's character in 'Being There had it almost right; that rugby as well as life, is a state of mind. "Exactly," he replied quietly. "Exactly."
One is not disappointed on both counts in this cracking book in which Kitson takes us on a tour of the rugby globe speaking with some of the legends of the game, who in stark contrast to their footballing counterparts are eloquent and have excellent insight into the sport they adorned, they adored and are in the majority worried for its future.
Some literary giants Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James Joyce among them have played rugby, though, the latter rather gingerly which led another great chronicler of the sport Richard Beard to comment to Kitson: "Maybe its the way to make an artist: to introduce them to rugby as a young person. Give them a hard time of it, but later on they'll write Ulysses."
If only I murmur to myself that was my case!!
This book has everything from humour to honesty "I've never been a comic book hero, I've never been an arrogant bxxxxxd. I'm somewhere in between. With the same amount of flaws as anyone but riddled with insecurity as well," admits former England captain Will Carling.
There is also pathos as in the case of All Blacks great, prop Carl Hayman, who like many former players has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probably CTE. He believes a spell in Europe was probably a factor in his condition especially in France where forwards are treated like "tranches (slices of meat)." As he says there was never a conversation around the risks of taking constant hits to the head much to his regret. "In our era concussion was a bit of a badge of honour. You got knocked out and you could go back on the field. If you were aware of the damage you could potentially do, either from one of those or the repetitive hits over a long career...."
Michael Lynagh, Sir Clive Woodward, BOD (In BOD we trust) as in Brian O'Driscoll, Brendan Venter and Namibia's fearless flanker Jacques Burger are just some of the others who feature indeed the latter along with Samoa's Dan Leo as well as a Latvian international highlight what it is like playing for the poorer nations and it is not always the establishment at fault for their parlous state but their own rugby chiefs at home.
Leo recounts too what Samoa's 2007 World Cup pre-season training camp was like which would make any reader's eyes pop out in astonishment. "In one of our pre-World Cup camps they dropped us off on a deserted island. The idea was to make it a back-to-your roots experience. If you were New Zealand-born (like he was ) you got partnered up with one of the local players so that basically you didn't die."
This tome is engrossing and superbly written, the author's love for the game that entranced him as a young lad comes across on every line and frankly this is a sports book that transcends boundaries those not on the inside of the sport might question why players of all shapes and sizes and levels of abilities like to get hit hard week in week out and with the inherent risks attached.
The answer best summed up when the author puts it to former French captain and coach Philippe Saint-Andre, affectionately known as Piglet, 'I suggested to him that Peter Sellers's character in 'Being There had it almost right; that rugby as well as life, is a state of mind. "Exactly," he replied quietly. "Exactly."
November 19, 2024
2.75★★
An interesting read, but I struggled with the language. Often I had to re-read sentences to understand what the author meant and go back and forth in the text to maintain the thread of continuity. Not the most fluent reading.
An interesting read, but I struggled with the language. Often I had to re-read sentences to understand what the author meant and go back and forth in the text to maintain the thread of continuity. Not the most fluent reading.
November 28, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyable book. If you like rugby then this is a must.
December 9, 2024
Illustrates a little bit of the spirit of rugby and the people that play it with tales from across the world.
February 12, 2025
A great read for rugby fans
March 20, 2025
A must for any rugby fan. A great collection of rugby stories from around the world.
October 31, 2025
Simply the best recent book I have read and enjoyed about rugby union. The memories , the people and the ideas for the future all impacted on me. I just loved this gem.
December 22, 2024
A very well-written collection of rugby reminiscences with each chapter focused on a different part of the world game.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews