Inside the All Blacks - Softcover

McConnell, Robin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1869503066 ISBN 13: 9781869503062

Publisher: HarperCollins New Zealand, 1999

Synopsis

This is an in-depth profile of the world’s greatest rugby union team. From dressing-room banter to the views of former players, this book shows what it means to be an All Black and what really happens behind the scenes in the All Black camp.

For three years the author, Robin McConnell, lived with the All Blacks, followed them around New Zealand, travelled with them overseas, attended their training sessions, and celebrated and commiserated with them in their dressing rooms – while all the time observing them both as public stars and private individuals. The result is this fascinating fly-on-the wall account of what it’s like to be an All Black.

To gain an understanding of their make-up and a feeling for how and why the All Blacks have become the world’s greatest rugby team, McConnell went back to the early days, interviewing the oldest surviving former players from the 1920s, as well as stars of the post-war era and the current professional team.

These insightful observations are supplemented by the views of coaches, captains and opponents; a chapter on the All Blacks’ legendary rivalry with the Springboks; and the nail-biting build-ups to Test matches involving the Five Nations teams and the British Lions.

In a new chapter for this paperback edition, the author brings the story right up to date, describing the current team and assessing their prospects for victory in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

About this title

From the Author:

The book gives an inside picture of a great sports team
One aim of the book was to outline historical insights into the All Blacks, drawing on new interviews and material. The other was to give an understanding of life inside the test teams as they prepared for test matches. I was a doctoral researcher for four years with the All Blacks with full access to every team and player situation. I interviewed or surveyed some 400 All Blacks and overseas test players. The chapters on characteristics of a great team and on coaches have been used in developing quality workplace teams and coaches. There are many players, from the 1920s to date whose interviews give new slants on rugby history.

From the Back Cover:

For three years the author, Robin McConnell, lived with the All Blacks, followed them around New Zealand, travelled with them overseas, attended their training sessions, and celebrated and commiserated with them in their dressing rooms – while all the time observing them both as public stars and private individuals. The result is this fascinating fly-on-the wall account of what it’s like to be an All Black.

To gain an understanding of their make-up and a feeling for how and why the All Blacks have become the world’s greatest rugby team, McConnell went back to the early days, interviewing the oldest surviving former players from the 1920s, as well as stars of the post-war era and the current professional team.

These insightful observations are supplemented by the views of coaches, captains and opponents; a chapter on the All Blacks’ legendary rivalry with the Springboks; and the nail-biting build-ups to Test matches involving the Five Nations teams and the British Lions.
In a new chapter for this paperback edition, the author brings the story right up to date, describing the current team and assessing their prospects for victory in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins New Zealand
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1869503066
• ISBN 13: 9781869503062
• Binding: Paperback