BOOK REVIEWS: Brutal honesty in a sanitised world

OPINION: In a world of sanitised and clichéd media briefings, a book regaling in splendour the raw passion and colourful language of rugby is refreshing.

Two gems landed on my desk in the past month, at the height of the Rugby Championship.

The brutal honesty of the books, much like Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on his personal social media channels, is in stark contrast to the over-coached and guarded environment the media has to function in these days.

Mike Greenaway, a respected and decorated colleague, has produced two great reads – The Fireside Springbok and Bok to Bok.

The Fireside Springbok, an anecdotal history of South Africa’s national team, is a ‘must have’ for any rugby supporter or collector.

You certainly will find no boring statistics or clichéd phrases like a ‘game of two halves’, ‘going back to the drawing board’, ‘beaten by a better team’ or ‘this year just isn’t our year’.

#NO!

What you will read about is colourful and entertaining tales about larger-than-life individuals and events.

There is one about the Springbok player who killed a lion with his bare hands, the Bok who ran the Comrades Marathon in his rugby boots while sipping on peach brandy or the Bok captain who skipped the country, first on a rowing boat in the dark of night and then on a yacht to Argentina, to escape the long arm of the law.

If anecdotes of a more recent vintage are for you, you can read about Pieter-Steph du Toit, who played the 2023 World Cup Final against the All Blacks with a knee stitched together by part of his father’s hamstring.

Then there are untold stories about much-loved characters such as Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Joost van der Westhuizen, Andre Joubert, Bakkies Botha, John Smit, Patrick Lambie, and James Small.

(Continue below …)

* Bok to Bok tells the story of how the Springboks stunned the world by following up their 2019 World Cup win with the same success in the 2023 version.

This anthology gives insight into how coach Rassie Erasmus turned a team that was down and out in 2018 (when he took over) into double world champions.

With insight from players and coaching staff the book explains what makes this special team tick and what was required to scale rugby’s Everest twice in succession.

Eben Etzebeth, the Springboks’ most capped player, set the scene in the foreword, with fellow players explaining that rugby is more than a sport in South Africa.

Bok to Bok takes the reader through the highs and occasional lows of an ultimately triumphant two months in France — from the preparation on the island of Corsica to the unbridled celebrations in Paris when New Zealand had been beaten in a breathless Final.

Both books are hardcover and A4 in size.

* For your copies, head over to a leading bookstore near you!