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This is Your Everest

This is Your Everest

The Lions, The Springboks and the Epic Tour of 1997

by Tom English and Peter Burns

Imprint: Polaris

5.1 x 7.8 in, 16pp color plates

Paperback
9781915359247
May 2025
Pre-Order

$18.95

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Hardcover
9781913538125
July 2021
In Stock

$28.95

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Description
Authors
Praise

Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year

'Magnificent ... the pinacle of rugby writing' – 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 combination of brilliant coaching, astute selections and outstanding players laid the foundations for the touring side's outstanding attacking mindset and brutal stonewall defence.

On the other side was a team expected to stamp their authority on the tourists and confirm their place as the best side on the planet. But with political, racial and economic scandals swirling around the Springbok camp, plus a rookie coach parachuted into office just before the tour began, the hosts were under huge pressure.

In a Test series that will go down in legend as one of the most compelling of all time, the sides could barely be separated. This is the inside story from both camps as they battle for supremacy, lifting the lid like never before as a huge cast of characters look back on those extraordinary weeks and the impact it had on their lives and careers thereafter. Hilarious, insightful and spine-chilling, Tom English and Peter Burns provide the perfect read for all Lions fans.

Tom English is an award-winning BBC Sport writer and broadcaster. 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.

Peter Burns is the editor for Arena Sport and author of Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland, Behind the Ryder Cup: The Players’ Stories, White Gold: England’s Journey to World Cup Glory and, like Tom, is also a co-author of Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions.

Magnificent' ~Owen Slot, The Times

The 1997 British & Irish Lions expedition to South Africa was among the greatest of modern tours. This Is Your Everest, full of evocative memories and riveting detail, soars high above the average rugby book. Compelling stuff' ~Robert Kitson, The Guardian

brilliant and powerful . . . chock-full of fascinating insights and delicious detail' ~Alan Pearey, Rugby World

Hard to beat stories from the horse’s mouth. Quite a stampede here. A riveting account of a ground-breaking tour' ~Brendan Fanning, The Sunday Independent

beautifully captured' ~Alasdair Reid, The Times

phenomenal' ~Alex Payne, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby

A brilliantly evocative recreation of the 1997 tour, put together with great skill ... rawness and emotion drips from the pages' ~Peter O’Reilly, The Times Ireland