Product Description

The autobiography of the most outspoken member of the English rugby team explores the highs and lows of his remarkable life in rugby, and his eventful life off the pitch. Known as Shaggy to his mates, Greenwood is one of the sport's most engaging, intelligent, outspoken and witty characters. A Lancastrian to the tips of this size 12 boots, the giant centre has been and automatic choice in the England XV since his debut against Australia in 1997. A few months earlier he looked set to become only the third uncapped Englishman to play for the British Lions when he came within a whisker of losing his life after he was speared to the ground in a heavy tackle, lost consciousness and swallowed his tongue. After taking several months to recover he quickly made and impact at international level following a widespread clamour in the press for his call-up to the England side. An elegant riposte to the old jibe that England players lack guile and imagination, the Harlequins' and former Leicester centre has brought a shimmering, magical quality to his team's back play, opening up defences with clever angled running, superb distribution and a gravity-defying ability to stay up in the tackle. Greenwood also featured in England's doomed World Cup campaign in 1999 before playing a central role in the team's dramatic triumph in Australia four years later. His life off the pitch has been no less eventful, he and his wife Caro having experienced extreme despair and joy in recent years with the loss of one son, Freddie, and the birth of another, Archie. Greenwood takes time to reflect in this revealing, honest, funny and moving book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12485 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 224 pages

From the Publisher
The autobiography of the most outspoken member of the English rugby team explores the highs and lows of his remarkable life in rugby, and his eventful life off the pitch.

About the Author
Will Greenwood is an international rugby star who has 52 caps, and has scored 30 test tries. He is a graduate of Economics from Durham University and currently plays for NEC Harlequins. He lives in South West London with his wife and their son Archie.

Customer Reviews

Will: The Autobiography of Will Greenwood
A truly wonderful book that had my full attention from start to finish, It brought tears of sadness to my eyes reading about the few minutes of young Freddy Greenwoods' life, but these were eventually replaced with tears of happiness with the birth of little Archie. A wonderful read for anyone who likes the guy, written quite frankly and with admiration for his family, his friends and his love for the sport.

200+ Pages and Not One "Crikey"
Will Greenwood is one of my favorite rugby players so I had to read this book even if I'd rather sports stars write once their careers are complete. Fair play to Will though--he and whatever ghost writer he used have done a good job writing a sports autobiography. Stories about pet turtles and the nice BMX bike they had at age 13 are left out to concentrate on rugby. Though Will mentions his parents and siblings, it's only the bare minimum. He knows you want to read about the rugby so it's the rugby he gives you. Greenwood concentrates most on the 1997 Lions Tour and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also writes about the tragic premature birth and death of his son Freddie, a very moving passage that had more than a few tears well up in my eye. Since we are STILL awaiting some kind of fly-on-the-wall documentary about the 2003 World Cup triumph, Greenwood's account about the aftermath of the win is very welcome. I certainly enjoyed his telling of the bus encounter with Wallaby supporters as they left Telstra Stadium. My only disappointment, was that after having watched the England's Story DVD, where Will set a world record in the use of the world "crikey," there's not one use of it in this book!

A quite brilliant account of life as a world cup winner.
As a sport-mad person, I read a lot of autobiographies, including Gazza, Matt Dawson, John McEnroe, Jonny Wilkinson, amongst others, and I've enjoyed them all, but Will is a step above the rest. He portrays himself as a regular person who in many ways has been exceptionally lucky, but in others has been very unlucky. He proves himself to be a very witty writer and a very good story-teller. Ok everyone knows how we won the world cup thanks to Jonny, but no-one had experienced the highs and lows of life during the tournament more than Will Greenwood, he had made a round the world trip to see his sick pregnant wife after scoring the winning try against the South-Africans. He gives a personal and thourough account of what he was going through. The book can make you cry in places, but it makes you laugh in more. A brilliant account of the world cup and how much effort and commitment is needed to achieve the triumph. YWhen you've read the book and it ends with the world cup win (sorry if I spoilt the end!!) and the birth of his son, you just get the overwhelming feeling that it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.