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The Grudge

Two Nations, One Match, No Holds Barred
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( 15 ratings, 3 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Grudge takes you to Murrayfield in March 1990, where the England vs. Scotland rugby match for the Five Nations Grand Slam becomes a battle charged with political and national significance. England, led by Will Carling, symbolise Thatcher’s Britain, fierce and victorious, while Scotland fights not only for rugby glory but amid rising nationalism and resistance to Thatcher's Poll Tax. Tom English offers unprecedented access and insightful narrative, bringing this historic clash vividly to life.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This compelling sports history is ideal for rugby fans, readers interested in British political and social history, and anyone drawn to gripping tales of rivalry and national pride.

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The GrudgeΒ brilliantly recaptures a day that has gone down in history when a rugby match became more than a game.Β This is the extraordinary story of the 1990 Calcutta Cup, told with astounding insight and unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides.

Winner of the British Sports Book Awards’ Rugby Book of the Year.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high - what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch.

The Grudge brilliantly recaptures a day that has gone down in history when a rugby match became more than a game. This is the real story of an extraordinary conflict, told with astounding insight and unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides (Will Carling, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore and the rest). Tom English has produced a gripping account of a titanic struggle that thrusts the reader right into the heart of the action. Game on.

Fully revised and updated, this special hardback edition is published to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Scotland's most storied rugby season.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781909715837

Publisher: Birlinn General

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 30 January 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Arena Sport

Edition: 30th Anniversary Edition

Illustration: Plates, black and white; Plates, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 145.0mm

Height: 220.0mm

Weight: 412g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Tom English is an award-winning BBC Sport writer and broadcaster. A former Irish rugby correspondent with the Sunday Times and chief sports writer with Scotland on Sunday, he was voted Scottish Sports Feature Writer of the Year six times. 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 best-selling Behind The Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions and When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks and the Epic Tour of 1971.

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