Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 well-written, insightful, witty May 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
(from my amazon.com review)
It's too bad that few books on team sports can measure up to this one. Thirty Bullies covers the Rugby World Cups of 1987, '91, '95, '99, and 2003 (it was written a bit too early for the 2007 World Cup). The title comes from an Oscar Wilde quote: "Rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the centre of the city". You'll certainly find here that rugby--"A game for hooligans played by gentlemen"--is not always played by gentlemen indeed! There's a finely-done deep analysis of each of the World Cups, and the likely reasons why the champion indeed won. You'll read about the exciting matches and the blowouts--Georgia, who were hopeful of winning all their matches, lost to England 84-6 in 2003. Embarrassing? Yes, but that year this was only the fifth-worse defeat, the others being 142-0, 113-13, 91-7, and 90-8!
You get a great sense of the evolution of the sport--the development of fitness training, for example. On the England team in 1987, for instance, 15% was an acceptable body fat level. Compared to other sports, standard tests showed that most of the English rugby team ranked in the low 40's and 50's--i.e. 50 other sports, including archery and lawn bowling had players whose fitness averaged better than rugby players. It was also estimated--an interesting evaluation for any sport--that coaching at the international level makes about a 7% difference to the team--not a lot, but certainly enough at times to mean winning or losing. There is in the book some delightful comments about the "fifty-seven old farts" in charge of English Rugby--a statement that got the captain fired (the real number was 56). You'll read about how an injured rugby player writes to one of the English RFU committeemen, Dr Sir Peter Yarranton, to ask whether the RFU might help with his mortgage payments while he was in the hospital. Yarranton wrote back to say that he had not been addressed properly, and unless his titles were properly used, no reply would be forthcoming.
The book pulls almost no punches--you'll read about the New Zealand possible poisoning episode, for example, about dirty play, hijinks, and the like. "Almost no punches"..I would have liked a short paragraph on Australia's 142-0 cliffhanger against Namibia in 2003, but perhaps the author, having described Georgia's 84-6 defeat, felt merciful. 16 pages of color photos add to the book. If you enjoy rugby, you'll certainly find this a worthwhile book for your collection!
superb October 31, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a delightful history of the world cup, full of lovely anecdotes and such detail and precision that it's really a joy. I thoroughly enjoyed the personal detail woven in throughout the book and thought her take on the team of 1987 was a complete delight. A very funny book by a very funny and clever writer. Really - highly recommended to anyone.
Brilliant October 11, 2007
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
As someone who has always been a huge fan of Alison Kervin's I approached this book knowing I was going to be entertained. But this rip-roaring effort exceeds even her previous efforts, which is saying something! Brilliant.
I'd recommend this book October 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Actually this book was very good. From the point of view of telling the whole history of the tournament I didn't think that the writer left anything out. Also, you felt like you were hearing lots of stories 'from the inside' because the writer has been involved with the sport for a long time and gives a unique, analytic and intelligent interpretation on top of all the facts. There's much humour in the book, much thoughtful debate, and some quite brilliant assessments of success and what it takes to be successful. I think the understanding expressed in the book about high level sport is second to none and I understand why New Zealand struggle in World Cups. I think this book is very good and is a fascinating read all round. HO'C 11/10
Very good October 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this book after becoming increasingly interested in the World Cup Cup. I don't know much about the sport, but found the book very easy to get to grips with. The stories and funny tales were unbelievable - some of the early stuff is very, very funny. It's how I remember rugby from my university days, but through the book, you see how the sport changes gradually, then more quickly once it turns professional. A lovely, lovely book that has taught me so much about the sport and made me love it all the more!
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