Turmoil at Twickenham

Laced with controversy, "Turmoil at Twickenham" covers the period during which professionalism was adopted after the Tokyo and Paris agreements of 1995, up to and including England's disastrous participation in the 2011 World Cup. In that time, England employed six coaches. Paul Stephens takes a critical look at them all and considers why England have not won a Grand Slam since 2003. With almost half a million players in 2,5000 clubs, could England have not done better? England is, after all, the wealthiest rugby-playing nation on earth and the only European country still making a profit from rugby. Why, then, have so many clubs fallen into the dankness of administration or gone out of business altogether, and why have so many experienced financial difficulties? What does the future hold for these clubs and is it sensible for them to sign overseas players, as Saracens and Leicester have been doing for several years?
Stephens looks at the unedifying, cramped and costly English league system, examines why leagues are not regionalised, and investigates why clubs being promoted to the Aviva Premiership are not awarded the same level of financial assistance as those already in the top division. These and a host of other topical issues are examined in depth in "Turmoil at Twickenham", a gripping and opinionated account of English rugby today that should not be missed.