"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
The Grudge
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Scotland v England 1990, Tom English, Yellow Jersey Press, 2010
The big question for me as I started to read this book was how on earth could the author sustain the interest in a book about a rugby match, which took place 20 years ago and the result of which would be known to the reader.
The book is a great success. The build-up to the Grand Slam decider in 1990 is developed though the personal story of some of the chief characters – whether Jim Telfer, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore or Will Carling.
The animosity between the Scots and the English comes out very strongly at many places. There is a story of a young Brian Moore nearly being killed in a car crash in Scotland. Moore’s comment “Can you imagine, dying in Scotland?”
Interestingly there is half a page (Page 45) on the Christian faith with which Brian Moore grew up.
The repeated use of the F word – mainly in quotations from players – became a bit tedious but otherwise a very readable book.