Product Description

As a Premiership, World Cup and Grand Slam winner, no one better embodies the charisma and the colour of English rugby’s greatest era than Lawrence Dallaglio. He has some story to tell, not just of the formidable exploits on the field, but an extraordinary life off it. His only sister, Francesca, was the youngest to perish in the Marchioness disaster on the River Thames. Her death at 19 remains the great sadness of his life. He reveals all about his personal life, the traumas he has faced, his reasons for retiring from and coming back to international rugby. Most controversially, he became captain of his country in 1997 but sensationally resigned 18 months later. In addition to his England exploits, he also led his club Wasps to the summit of European rugby, winning two Heineken Cups and three consecutive English Premiership titles. Full of drama, controversy, great sadness and heart-stopping moments, Lawrence Dallaglio’s story – the last of the great World Cup heroes – is the one every rugby fan has been waiting to read.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25229 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review

'Uncontrollably frank...A terrific book'

(Daily Telegraph )

'An extraordinary tale...compellingly written'

(Guardian )

'It's top'

(Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear )

'The story of a true English sporting hero, albeit a flawed one for whom tragedy as well as disgrace has been a companion. Pretty much everything is confronted head on, exactly as Dallaglio played'

 

(Daily Mail )

Synopsis
As a Premiership, World Cup and Grand Slam winner, no one better embodies the charisma and the colour of English rugby's greatest era than Lawrence Dallaglio. He has some story to tell, not just of the formidable exploits on the field, but an extraordinary life off it. His only sister, Francesca, was the youngest to perish in the Marchioness" disaster on the River Thames. Her death at 19 remains the great sadness of his life. He reveals all about his personal life, the traumas he has faced, his reasons for retiring from and coming back to international rugby. Most controversially, he became captain of his country in 1997 but sensationally resigned 18 months later. In addition to his England exploits, he also led his club Wasps to the summit of European rugby, winning two Heineken Cups and three consecutive English Premiership titles. Full of drama, controversy, great sadness and heart-stopping moments, Lawrence Dallaglio's story -- the last of the great World Cup heroes -- is the one every rugby fan has been waiting to read.

About the Author
Lawrence Dallaglio has been a Wasps player all his club career. He signed in 1990 and became captain in 1995, a position he holds to this day. With Wasps he has won a hat-trick of Premiership titles and was also a member of the triumphant England Sevens team which won the World Cup at Murrayfield in 1993. He has captained his country and is regarded as one of the world’s greatest ever back row forwards - he was the only player to play in every minute of every match during the victorious 2003 World Cup campaign. He has won 77 caps for England and 3 Lions caps.

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Customer Reviews

Good book but holds back....
I remember the 2003 World Cup campaign well and Lawrence Dallaglio was one of the English heroes who played a big part in it. He was (proudly) the only player to have played every minute of every match - although there were reasons for this!

I enjoy biographies and have read several of sporting legends (Ali, Armstrong...er Tony Cascarino) but none has been that exceptional. Sadly, this is the case here too as while it has its moments, it quite workman-like although generally readable.

He came from a secure and loving family and is at pains to point this out. His parents were very supportive and they worked hard to give him the best education they could afford. He admits he did not give them a good return on their investment and cruised through school, only excelling on the rugby pitch. He tells us about the tragic loss of his sister in the Marchioness and the devastating effect it had on him then, and to this day. His mother's long and brave fight for a full public enquiry is an eye-opener in the face of indolence and opposition from the authorities, though Dallaglio admits he played little part in this.

His arrival at and career with his beloved Wasps club side is well documented. You have to admire the man for staying at the club he adored although there do not appear to have been many offers from other clubs! Sometimes, it can be a bit of a mates backslapping tome, as he tells of his love of a "pint and a yarn" with his friends but he seems to have made no enemies whatsoever on the way. If he did, he didn't tell us.....

I was also a bit disappointed in the way the News of the World "drug dealer" scandal was glossed over, Dallaglio blaming the drink entirely. As one NOTW lawyer said, being drunk does not give you an in-depth knowledge of the drugs world. If he had addressed specific allegations made in the papers, his explanations would have had more credibility. It cost him the England captaincy but he is one of those players who just wanted to play for the white shirt at all costs, and you get the impression he really meant that.

There are interesting passages on his relationship with Clive Woodward, an extremely clever and talented coach. It was a rocky ride at times but the mutual respect was there. Johnny Wilkinson comes across as a shy character who doesn't enjoy the limelight (shouldn't be such a good goal kicker then should he!)

Club fans will enjoy the accounts of battles against Leicester and the Toulose etc, whilst international fans will enjoy the World Cup and Lions accounts equally as much.

A good read for the England and Wasps rugby fan though it could have been better had the surface been scratched a bit deeper.

Disappointing
I am a bit amazed by some of the other reviews of this book. I am a big rugby fan and having been given this for Christmas 2007 was looking forward to insightful read of a insiders view of the 2003 rugby build up and how he really found it breaking into the senior game from the junior ranks. It reads like someone desperately trying to remember some of the past and also some of the really big games are brushed over in 1-2 pages if that. the News of the World incident receives many pages more other important events in his life, which quite frankly I would rather read about. All in all disappointing.

Unfinished Business
I think that Lawrence at 35 is perhaps too young to be writing My life and as an old fart myself that still applies.This is my first experience of reading a Sport autobiography so i can't compare as with some other reviewers. I do find the criticism of not opening up entirely to be valid-I am not sure that he is keener to redress imbalances than say it "entirely as it is" as he says. I read it in record time seeing the BIG PRINT as my friend. The potentially overwhelming issue around his sister's death is very well dealt with.It is the small incidents recalled that make that.
I came away from the book thinking that perhaps Lawrence felt that he still had unfinished business and was holding back for a later book?
Regardless of that a great fast read.