Barry John

Barry John has often been referred to as the George Best of rugby. Considered by many to be the greatest rugby player of his generation, he possessed the pop-star image: tall, dark and handsome. An idol to millions of sports lovers throughout the world, Barry John was mobbed and feted wherever he went. He also had the world at his feet, just like Best. Barry John caused one of the sporting shocks of the century, however, when he quit the game he loved at the height of his dazzling career, aged just 27. He was never fully explained the reasons for his abrupt departure -until now. In this book, "The King", as he was known, talks in great detail for the first time about why he had to step out of the limelight. He recalls the day an 18 year-old girl curtsied to him - the day he realised he had simply become too detached from ordinary people. This book reveals the huge pressures that led him to quit the game at his peak - pressures which perhaps only Best, who quit football under similar circumstances, could fully comprehend.
He talks frankly of his special friendship with the Manchester United genius and divulges fascinating and often hilarious anecdotes about the celebrity circles in which he mingled with fellow sport superstars, like Bobby Moore, Jackie Stewart, and Tony Jacklin, showbiz legends, including Richard Burton and Richard Harris - and even prime ministers. The greatest number 10 ever to play rugby reveals the World Cup-winning secrets Sir Alf Ramsey confided in him and the little pep talk he gave Welsh colleague, Gareth Edwards. He recalls his record-breaking achievements for club and country, gives the inside story behind the British Lion's historic victory in New Zealand in 1971 and explains why that incredible feat has never been repeated. He talks openly about his hard-hitting views on the modern game, of the professional explosion and about his fears of rugby union's very future.