gon2seed
(and me! - Ed)
'The Grudge', by Tom English.
Fantastic book about the 'Grand Slam' decider between England & Scotland in 1990. Both teams had won their previous three games and went into this decider, winner takes all in The Five Nations, (as it was then. Ireland, France, Wales, Scotland & England.)
I was 27, living in Rochdale, but occasionally turning out for St Leonard's rugby club. My friend was the treasurer of St Leonard's, and they got given tickets from the RFU for the match, prior to the tournament starting. As the tournament had not commenced, and this on the face of it did not look too exciting a match, there were no takers for the game when it was offered around. People did not fancy the trip up to Edinburgh; so my mate and another mate took up the offer.
When it was clear how important the match would be people started wondering what had happened to the tickets!
Well off we set, started at about 4.30 am as the driver had misread his route details and mistaken miles for kilometres!
so we arrived in Edinburgh just after 8.00! Sampled the atmosphere, window shopped and chilled, we had been chatting on the journey up, and could see nothing other than a comprehensive win for England. The only player who was good enough to make England's line up was Gave Hastings!
Won't spoil the book if you don't know the result,
but we didn't talk on the way home till we got to Carlisle! One funny bit, came during the anthems; never been patriotic, but the way the crowd booed the National Anthem which was being played for England, made me shout the dirge as loud as I could; and how much did I laugh, when the Scots all around us started well with 'Flower of Scotland' but didn't know the second verse! In fairness it was the first time it had been used prior to an international.
The book is an excellent evocation of the start of the decade, why and how the game attained such notoriety and became symbolic of so much that epitomised the battle between the left and right in politics, Thatcherism, the Poll Tax, Scottish Separatism , and much more. Its is so much more than a sports book about one game, and I can't wait to finish it! If your interested in an account of the 90's you may find this worth a look!
Fantastic book about the 'Grand Slam' decider between England & Scotland in 1990. Both teams had won their previous three games and went into this decider, winner takes all in The Five Nations, (as it was then. Ireland, France, Wales, Scotland & England.)
I was 27, living in Rochdale, but occasionally turning out for St Leonard's rugby club. My friend was the treasurer of St Leonard's, and they got given tickets from the RFU for the match, prior to the tournament starting. As the tournament had not commenced, and this on the face of it did not look too exciting a match, there were no takers for the game when it was offered around. People did not fancy the trip up to Edinburgh; so my mate and another mate took up the offer.
When it was clear how important the match would be people started wondering what had happened to the tickets!
Well off we set, started at about 4.30 am as the driver had misread his route details and mistaken miles for kilometres!
so we arrived in Edinburgh just after 8.00! Sampled the atmosphere, window shopped and chilled, we had been chatting on the journey up, and could see nothing other than a comprehensive win for England. The only player who was good enough to make England's line up was Gave Hastings! Won't spoil the book if you don't know the result,
but we didn't talk on the way home till we got to Carlisle! One funny bit, came during the anthems; never been patriotic, but the way the crowd booed the National Anthem which was being played for England, made me shout the dirge as loud as I could; and how much did I laugh, when the Scots all around us started well with 'Flower of Scotland' but didn't know the second verse! In fairness it was the first time it had been used prior to an international.The book is an excellent evocation of the start of the decade, why and how the game attained such notoriety and became symbolic of so much that epitomised the battle between the left and right in politics, Thatcherism, the Poll Tax, Scottish Separatism , and much more. Its is so much more than a sports book about one game, and I can't wait to finish it! If your interested in an account of the 90's you may find this worth a look!