John Kendall-Carpenter was a truly extraordinary man. He captained the England rugby team in the early 1950s, when he was widely regarded as one of the cleverest and most tactically astute players in the world. At the same time he launched out on a career in education which saw him not only hold the headmastership of three well-known public schools but also play a prominent role in the Headmasters’ Conference in its negotiations with the Labour Government in the 1970s to ensure the continued independence of that sector. In addition, the first Rugby World Cup simply would never have happened without him. President of the Rugby Union in 1980, he was then elected as England’s representative on the International Rugby Board where his role was to defend the amateur code which was coming under increasing pressure from professionalism. His conversion to the cause of international rugby and the commercial potential of the Word Cup, with his subsequent passion and energy, was instrumental in getting the first World Cup in 1987 off the ground and also paved the way towards the professional game. He then threw himself into the planning of the next World Cup but sadly died just a year before it started in 1991. John Kendall-Carpenter was remarkable man with many friends – and a few enemies! – not only in sport, but in education, the theatre, among politicians and writers. He is still a legend in Cornwall – his adopted home. This biography will appeal to every dedicated rugby supporter as well as those interested in sport in general and how rugby emerged from the fields of English public schools to the huge commercial sporting event it is today.

Cornwall has long been recognised as being one of the hotbeds of English rugby enjoying a level of interest and support even outstripping that of football. Ten years ago Penzance and Newlyn rebranded itself as the Cornish Pirates and now operates as the only truly professional sports team in the area. Despite its remote location and low population base it has nevertheless recently twice won national knock-out trophies and twice more reached play-off finals of the Rugby Championship - just one tier below the Premier League. Ex-player Steve Tomlin's latest book details the lives and playing careers of forty-six leading players and four senior coaches covering both the amateur and professional eras of the club. It is almost entirely based on a series of detailed interviews with the players themselves - or with their colleagues and families if they are no longer with us. Many of those featured played at international level whilst others remained as heroes in their own backyard. It gives a fascinating and often hilarious insight into the lives, pressures, achievements and disappointments of rugby players of different generations and varying backgrounds.

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.