Tom English

I enjoyed this book enormously. The match is one of my enduring rugby memories, and reading The Grudge it all came flooding back

The finest book written on the tournament ... English has produced an absolutely outstanding work, weaving in the strands of history, politics, sociology, dislike and tactical nous, which makes the game probably the most remarkable ever played in the grand old tournament. The insights provided into the minds and roles of Jim Telfer and Brian Moore are worth the price alone

Superb ... a fantastic drama. The Grand Slam match was part of a political world ... This is what gave the occasion its power, its glory and its ultimate significance

Gripping ... Tom English has interviewed all the main protagonists to produce a richly textured picture of the build-up, the day itself and the aftermath

5 stars. An epic tale of clashing personalities. The Grudge puts you right on the touchline as the English and Scottish teams go to war.

English has written a marvellous book, in its way as gripping as that season and the match itself

A potentially award-winning book. It's a terrific bit of work, as engaging as the day itself was.

A remarkable and compulsive re-enactment over 235 pages of the day Scotland confounded all expectation to win

If you haven't bought Tom English's book about the 1990 match - The Grudge - then do yourself a favour and get it now. It's terrific

Tom English's excellent book, The Grudge, revisits an occasion when sport and politics and ancient rivalry came together

Shudderingly good ... English has a rare talent for getting to the core of a person

Thatcherite politics and rugby come crashing into contact in this rich and textured account

Two Nations, One Match, No Holds Barred

Shortlised for the 2022 SBA Best Sports Book of the 21st Century prize 
 
The gripping inside story of when an England-Scotland rugby match become more than a game 
 
Murrayfield, the Calcutta Cup, March 1990. England vs. Scotland - winner-takes-all for the Five Nations Grand Slam, the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby. 
 
Will Carling's England are the very embodiment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain - snarling, brutish and all-conquering. Scotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high - what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch. 
 
Told with unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides (Will Carling, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore and the rest), Tom English has produced a gripping account of a titanic struggle that thrusts the reader right into the heart of the action. Game on. 
 
'A priceless read' Guardian 
'Absolutely outstanding' The Times 
'An epic tale' Daily Telegraph 
'Gripping' Scottish Review of Books

Tom English

Praise for The Grudge

I enjoyed this book enormously. The match is one of my enduring rugby memories, and reading The Grudge it all came flooding back

The finest book written on the tournament ... English has produced an absolutely outstanding work, weaving in the strands of history, politics, sociology, dislike and tactical nous, which makes the game probably the ...

Superb ... a fantastic drama. The Grand Slam match was part of a political world ... This is what gave the occasion its power, its glory and its ultimate significance

I enjoyed this book enormously. The match is one of my enduring rugby memories, and reading The Grudge it all came flooding back

The finest book written on the tournament ... English has produced an absolutely outstanding work, weaving in the strands of history, politics, sociology, dislike and tactical nous, which makes the game probably the ...

Superb ... a fantastic drama. The Grand Slam match was part of a political world ... This is what gave the occasion its power, its glory and its ultimate significance

I enjoyed this book enormously. The match is one of my enduring rugby memories, and reading The Grudge it all came flooding back

The finest book written on the tournament ... English has produced an absolutely outstanding work, weaving in the strands of history, politics, sociology, dislike and tactical nous, which makes the game probably the ...

Superb ... a fantastic drama. The Grand Slam match was part of a political world ... This is what gave the occasion its power, its glory and its ultimate significance

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