By Keith Jenner
October 26 2004

This is a bit of an odd book for me. I do read biographies (which I prefer to autobiographies), but my preferred subjects are generally historical figures (politicians etc) where a knowledge of someones background can be almost essential to understanding how they formed their views and opinions. Certainly, despite my interest (did someone say obsession?) with rugby and other sports, I think that this is the first biography of a sportsperson that I have ever read. I have also bought “Winning” (Clive Woodwards book), but haven’t yet read past the first fifty or so pages. Woodwards book appealed to me because I am keen to learn what drove him to make the changes which he did, and also I suspect that it is the closest thing we currently have to a history of the England Rugby team in the years leading up to Sydney 2003.

So, why did I go and get Will Greenwoods book, and more to the point, why did I then sit down and read it in one sitting (very unusual for me, I usually have a couple of books on the go and dip into them when I fancy it).

There were a number of reasons for buying the book. Firstly, I believe that Greenwood is, at his best, one of the most talented rugby players in the world. As a fixture in a World Cup winning side, that almost goes without saying, but in those games when England have really impressed over the last few years, Greenwood has often been right in the thick of things. Conversely, take away his creative talents and the back line stutters. Johnny Wilkinson deservedly gets the plaudits, but I believe that Will Greenwood is right up there with Richard Hill as a key (and often unsung) element in the England team.

The other attractions were more important however. We all know that Greenwood is an entertaining interviewee, and I was hoping that this would come out in his writing style (apparently no ghost writer was used, although there is a credit for assistance with the writing). Also, the tragedy of the loss of baby Freddie would surely make this something more than a book about a rugby player, flying round the world playing games with his mates and getting bladdered at every opportunity.

I’m pleased to say that my expectations were realised. The book is a very easy and entertaining read. There are some “rugby lads on tour” tales, but there is much more to it than that. The problems which Greenwood has faced, both on and off the field, are well known, his life threatening injury during the Lions 1997 tour, struggling to break back into the Leicester team, and the loss of his first son. In the book they are mixed together with amusing stories (many of them involving Austin Healey) and it all adds up to a very readable and rewarding story.

In the book, Greenwood comes across in the same, self-depreciating way that he does during interviews. His analysis of his stunning try against South Africa in December 2000 which helped him break his way back into the England team is a good example. According to the story, when faced with Andre Vos as the last line of defence, he panicked, tripped himself up and as a result wrong footed Vos. I can’t say it looks that way to me on the video, but who am I to argue.

The World Cup final has been dealt with as an almost garbled flood of recollections, which give some idea what it must have been like to have been involved with the team on that great day, but the sections which most stick in the mind are obviously those which involve Greenwoods family. A chapter is devoted to baby Freddie and nobody could fail to be moved by the images of the couple spending the 45 minutes of his life with him. The concerns during the second pregnancy are also well dealt with, against the background of the World Cup finals.

Obviously, international rugby players are often the subject of abuse when things aren’t going well, both with the international team and also with their clubs. I myself have been guilty of accusing Greenwood of not putting his all in when playing for Quins (a view I now believe to have been incorrect, and not just as a result of reading this book). However, some comments which have been made recently after Greenwood chose to watch a Quins match with his son from a box rather than from the dugout, or for distancing himself during the Parker Pen Cup celebrations are, in my opinion, out of order. Peoples priorities change when they have a young family and after the experience with Freddie, I don’t think anyone can blame Greenwood if he wants to spend every moment he can with his son.

Like millions of others, I have experienced the loss of an unborn child, albeit at a far earlier stage then the Greenwoods did, but I can’t even begin to imagine what they went through in the weeks and months which followed. Their story is one which also gives encouragement that things can turn out right in the end and I for one was very much moved by it.

This isn’t a literary masterpiece, but it is a entertainingly written story which includes highs and lows in equal measure. It is also a rather slim volume (217 pages and as I proved capable of being read in one go). If you want in depth analysis of the England rugby team then Woodwards book would be a better bet, but I don’t think you would be sorry for having read Will Greenwoods tale.