Product Description

From postman to captain of the British and Irish Lions, Gareth Thomas' story is a remarkable one. Universally known by his nickname 'Alfie', Thomas has amassed an incredible list of achievements in more than a decade at the top of his sport: in 2005, he racked up not just the Grand Slam but also a Heineken Cup-winner's medal with Toulouse; he stepped into the breach as leader of Sir Clive Woodward's Lions when captain Brian O'Driscoll's tour was prematurely ended; and he reached the milestone of 100 caps, the most won by any Wales player, during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.Away from the field, Thomas' experiences have often read like a real-life soap opera. In 2006, a potentially life-threatening neck injury resulted in a mini-stroke that almost ended his career. There was also a French court appearance for alleged affray, the anguish of the saga surrounding Mike Ruddock's controversial departure in 2006 and a Six Nations ban following an altercation with Ulster supporters at a Heineken Cup match. Yet, amid the highs and lows of a remarkable rugby odyssey, it is Thomas' alternative yet engaging personality that marks him out as a true one-off. Never afraid to speak his mind, he has made it to the top simply by being himself. In "Alfie!", Thomas reveals the inside story of his incredible life and offers readers an insight into one of the most intriguing personalities in rugby.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70636 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Back Cover
From postman to captain of the British and Irish Lions, Gareth Thomas’s story is remarkable by any sportsman’s standards.

Universally known by his nickname ‘Alfie’, Thomas has amassed an incredible list of achievements in more than a decade at the top of his sport: he scored three tries on his international debut in the 1995 World Cup; in 2004, he was made captain of Wales by Mike Ruddock; he has claimed a record number of Test tries for his country, beating the mark of thirty-three set by Ieuan Evans; in 2005, he racked up not just the Grand Slam but also a Heineken Cup winner’s medal with Toulouse; and he stepped into the breach as leader of Sir Clive Woodward’s Lions when captain Brian O’Driscoll’s tour was prematurely ended.

Away from the field, Thomas’s experiences have often read like a real-life soap opera. In 2006, a potentially life-threatening neck injury resulted in a mini-stroke that almost ended his career. There was also a French court appearance for alleged affray, the anguish of the saga surrounding Ruddock’s controversial departure in 2006 and a Six Nations ban following an altercation with Ulster supporters at a Heineken Cup match.

Yet, amid the highs and lows of a remarkable rugby odyssey, it is Thomas’s alternative-yet-engaging personality that marks him out as a true one-off. Never afraid to speak his mind, he has made it to the top simply by being himself.

In Alfie!, Thomas reveals the inside story of his incredible life and offers readers an insight into one of the most intriguing personalities the game has ever known.

About the Author
Gareth Thomas was born in 1974 and holds the record for the most appearances for Wales. Delme Parfitt is head of sport content at the South Wales Echo and has previously worked for Wales on Sunday and Westgate Sports Agency.

Customer Reviews

AMAZING and Charistmatic
Well.. The title does say it all.
I finished last week Dallaglio's biography "It's in the blood, my life" and because I loved that book, I was a bit scared to keep on reading another biography written by another Rugby icon: Gareth Thomas.

I was in for a chock.

If you do expect Alfie's book to be just and about Rugby,.. WRONG. Without giving you the trailer of the book, this is a very uplifting story.. Alfie is an amazing man in that sense that he does pass to you his emotions, his regrets and also.. make make you believe in yourself. I know, it does sounds odd.. but he did have an amazingly rich life and let us share it all..., from his teenager years to that stunning amazing captain leading his 100th caps in Caerdydd against the Fiji during the World cup 2007.. What an amazing life...

Read that book.. you will understand what I meant.
I m still reading it and I love it . Not only because the book in itself is well bound, with an easy to read text and tons of nice unusual pictures, but also because it does bring up some questions about Life, its values and what we do with our destiny.
Gareth Thomas is truely, "a rugbyplayer with a shining soul."

A Giant Welsh Rugby Hero
I bought this book recently after Wales had won their tenth Grand Slam, as I thought it would be interesting to read the thoughts of the captain of the 9th Slam winners from 2005. I found it very hard to put the book down, and read it in just over a week. Of course I already knew of Alfie's claim as one of the true Welsh rugby greats, with 100 caps, 40 tries, and captain of the first Welsh side since the 70's to both win the Slam, and beat the Aussies. What I had not realised was what an emotional, proud and passionate Welshman he is. He wears his heart on his sleeve and this book is a lovingly told story about a wild young athlete from Pen Coed in Bridgend, who originally cares only for himself but who with the help of mentors like Steve Hansen, and Scott Johnson and the unqualified love and support of his family and friends matures into a Welsh rugby giant, for whom his team mates and the Welsh team are everything in the sport he adores. He allows us to get under his skin and meet the real Gareth Thomas, inherently shy and modest but with an extrovert streak that is so often present with great sportsmen. My son and I sort of sensed this when we were lucky enough to meet him briefly at The Yard pub in Cardiff the day after we had won the 2005 Slam. Of course I now know from reading the book of the mixed emotions he felt the previous day, willing Wales on to beat Ireland but at the same time desparately frustrated at being injured and not able to personally lead his team to their historic victory. This sensitively written book is an endearingly honest love story and reminds me very much of another of my favourite autobiographies, "The Soul of a Butterfly" by Muhammad Ali.

A Disappointed Alfie fan
The book may well have been honestly written but I must say that this does nothing to enhance his reputation as a professional sportsman. Most of the book is taken up in having a dig against previous management and extolling the questionable virtues of early days yob culture in our great game.
Alfie has contributed so much to Wales and Wales rugby (and still does for the Cardiff Blues) that it is truly a great shame that this book will last longer than the many positive memories of the man - in my view the biggest disappointment is whoever advised him on the "literary content"