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At Least We Turn Up - The Biography of John Pullin (Paperback)
Loot Price: R414
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At Least We Turn Up - The Biography of John Pullin (Paperback)
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List price R453
Loot Price R414
Discovery Miles 4 140
You Save R39 (9%)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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In February 1973, the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland were at their
very worst and following Bloody Sunday the previous year neither
the Scotland nor Wales rugby teams would dare to travel to Ireland
to play. Almost totally reliant on income from International
matches, the Irish Rugby Union faced imminent bankruptcy and the
Five Nations competition itself hung in the balance. What would
England do? The press and public were divided on the subject and
the blazers in the corridors of power at Twickenham were at first
keen to go but then rather ducked the issue by 'leaving it up to
the individual players'. John Pullin had recently been made captain
of England and had returned triumphantly from South Africa where,
against all the odds, he had led England to a heroic win against
the Springboks. This quietly spoken Gloucestershire farmer had
established himself as the leading hooker in world rugby at the
time and, having consulted his firm friend and opposing captain
Willie John McBride, who expressed how desperate the Irish were to
stay in the family of rugby nations, he made it abundantly clear
that he was going and no less than twelve of his colleagues from
the previous match followed him. They were received rapturously by
the enormous crowd in Dublin and after the match, which England
lost, he stood up at the dinner and uttered the immortal words 'We
are not much good but at least we turn up!' It brought the house
down and over forty years later he is still revered and loved in
Ireland more than any other English sportsman. This is the story of
this great England captain, who led his country to victory over the
Springboks, the All Blacks on their home soil in Auckland, and the
Wallabies, and also played for the British Lions in 1971 on the
victorious tour of New Zealand.
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