Tom English

By 1971, 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 bruised, battered, and beaten. But the 1971 tour party was different. It was full of young, ambitious, and outrageously talented players who would all go on to carve their names...

Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 'Magnificent' Owen Slot, The Times The 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa is one of the most iconic in rugby history. Written off at home and abroad, Martin Johnson's men were given no hope of success against the world champion Springboks in their own backyard. But a...

Murrayfield, the Calcutta Cup, March 1990. England vs. Scotland - winner-takes-all for the Five Nations Grand Slam, the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby. Will Carling's England are the very embodiment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain - snarling, brutish and all-conquering. Scotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax...

From 1997 to 2003, England and Australia battled for domination of the rugby world in one of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever known. In The Men in the Arena, William Hill shortlisted authors Peter Burns and Tom English explore every aspect of the teams' journey to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, telling the story primarily in the...

'A rollicking read and a mighty achievement' - Donald McRae, The Guardian The 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa is one of the most iconic in rugby history. Written off at home and abroad, Martin Johnson's men were given no hope of success against the world champion Springboks in their own backyard. But a combination of brilliant...