When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971 - Hardcover

Tom English; Peter Burns

4.46

119 ratings by Goodreads

9781909715523: When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Legendary Tour of 1971

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1909715522 ISBN 13: 9781909715523

Publisher: Arena Sport, 2017

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The 1971 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand has gone down in history as one of the greatest of all time.

When the enigmatic Carwyn James was appointed as coach, he faced a gruelling schedule: two matches against powerful provincial sides in Australia packed with Test players, then a hop across the Tasman Sea for a twenty-four-match slog around New Zealand, which would include a four-Test series against the All Blacks, the best side on the planet.

No Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home with their tails between their legs. But in 1971 a tour party led by John Dawes set out to carve their names into the annals of the sport with their assault on the great bastion of world rugby.

Lying in wait were team after team of hardened rugby warriors and an All Blacks side filled with legends of the game. But as the Lions began to sweep their way across the length and breadth of the country, displaying ferocity and magic in equal measure, it became clear that a Test series of epic proportions was set to unfold.

When Lions Roared delves into the very heart of that famous summer as Lions, All Blacks and provincial players recount their memories to bring to life one of the most celebrated tours in rugby history - one that changed the game forever and continues to resonate powerfully to this day.

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Review:

'Brilliantly written - evocative, powerful and utterly gripping' --Rugby World

'Outstanding . . . On all sort of levels, it is a compelling read. The quality of the Lions backs, the coaching intelligence of Carwyn James, the shrewd management of Doug Smith, the growing Kiwi horror at what was unfolding: all of it feels strangely fresh, partly because it is so well told and partly because so much fascinating detail has lain untouched for ages' --Robert Kitson, Guardian

'Special. Wondrous insights into the Lions' only New Zealand win ... loved it' - Stephen Jones, The Sunday Times

'enthralling ... brilliantly chronicled through the eyes of those that were there' - Western Mail

'splendid ... not only for those of us well steeped in nostalgia, but of a wider and more immediate interest' --- The Scotsman

About the Author:

Tom English is an award-winning BBC Sport writer and broadcaster. He won Rugby Book of the Year at the 2011 British Sports Book Awards for The Grudge, before claiming the prize again in 2016 for No Borders: Playing Rugby for Ireland. He is a co-author of the bestselling Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions.

Peter Burns is the editor for Arena Sport and author of Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland, Behind the Ryder Cup: The Players' Stories, White Gold: England's Journey to World Cup Glory and, like Tom, is also a co-author of Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions.

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