How We Beat the All Blacks

The 1971 British Lions tour of New Zealand was a historic and yet-to-be repeated event: they beat the mighty All Blacks, who were captained by the fearsome Colin Meads and had great players like Sid Going and Ian Kirkpatrick in their team, on their own turf by two Tests to one. After the victorious squad had returned home, the Lions' captain John Dawes had the idea of convening a conference at which key members of his team would discuss the latest trends in rugby and share the fruits of their experience on how they beat the greatest side on earth. The result was one of the most fascinating and original books ever published about the game, which, 34 years on and with a current Lions squad departing for New Zealand under Sir Clive Woodward, Aurum are now re-issuing in a treasurable miniature hardback edition.
In some respects this is a touching period piece, about a bygone era of the game when everyone was amateur, sides were away on tour for months - and without the benefit of a vast backroom staff of nutritionists and motivators - and players had one pair of boots (their own) to last a whole tour, and the full-back kicked goals by lovingly building a large mud tee and then punting the ball with his toe.