CHILL-OUT SUNDAY THE ELLIS RUGBY – JASON LEONARD ENGLAND RUGBY BOOK PREVIEW

The Ellis Rugby book preview. Jason Leonard England Rugby: Autobiography.

Jason Leonard England Rugby: Autobiography. Authors Jason Leonard with Alison Kervin

Jason Leonard OBE gained a record-breaking 114 caps for England during his 14-year international rugby career.

He played in England teams which won four Grand Slams (1991, 1992, 1995 and 2003) and the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and was part of the British & Irish Lions squad that won the test series during their 1997 tour of South Africa. Jason played for the Lions on three tours, gaining five additional caps.

He was awarded MBE for services to rugby in 2002, which became an OBE after England’s Rugby World Cup success. He was also inducted to the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014.

Since his retirement in 2004, Leonard has remained highly involved in the world of rugby. He was President of the RFU from 2015 -2016, and is currently a board member for both the Six Nations and the British & Irish Lions.

Jason Leonard England Rugby: Autobiography author Alison Kervin

Alison Kervin is the Sports Editor of the Mail on Sunday newspaper. She is the first female Sports Editor of a national newspaper in England and was awarded an OBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours list. Before her editing job, Alison worked as chief sports feature writer for The Times, chief sports interviewer for the Daily Telegraph and editor of Rugby World magazine.

She has a hugely varied sporting CV: she was in the England gymnastics squad before qualifying as a coach for no fewer than 10 sports. In 1991, she became the first woman to referee a rugby match at Twickenham.

In 1994 she was appointed editor of Rugby World magazine. In 1997 she became publisher of IPC sports publications, overseeing Rugby World and Golf Monthly. In 1999 she became rugby editor of The Times, before becoming the paper’s chief sports feature writer in 2003.

She left  to embark on a series of book projects: she wrote World Cup winning Rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward’s biography, and co-wrote autobiographies with Olympic athlete Denise Lewis and England rugby stars Jason Leonard and Phil Vickery. She has also written a History of the Rugby World Cup.

Here’s the Jason Leonard England Rugby: Autobiography Book Preview –

Leonard’s story starts as rugby started – in the amateur days, when the Cockney Carpenter began playing for Barking and Saracens in the days before multi-million pound business owners and sponsorship deals. His big break came when he was invited to join the England squad for their tour to Argentina in 1990 and has been capped 100 times.

It was a tour that precipitated one of the greatest periods in the history of the British game, and Leonard provides a compelling insight into life behind the international scenes with England and the Lions, as well as the domestic game through his time at Saracens and Harlequins.

Once told that he would never walk again after undergoing life-saving surgery on his neck, Leonard describes the torment he went through during this period – both physical and financial – and how he fought against all the odds to re-establish himself on the international stage. With 100 Test caps won to date, and a career in rugby union spanning two decades, there is no more experienced player in the modern game.

Leonard has plenty to tell about the people he has met during his career – Rob Andrew, Will Carling, Lawrence Dallaglio, Brian Moore, Dick Best and Clive Woodward all feature – and with nicknames like ‘The Fun Bus’ and ‘The Scourge of the Barking Barmaids’ the stories are as colourful and controversial as the man himself.

All is revealed in this fascinating portrait of an English rugby legend who also reflects upon England’s 2002 Six Nations campaign, his hopes for his international future and a tough year for Quins.

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