Matthew Knight has a truly engaging writing style and he also peppers his prose with factual commentary and footnotes. He has an easy sense of humour and his love of rugby and all things South African are consistent themes throughout the book. His story spans centuries, charting the origins and evolution of the game with a particular focus on what he calls ‘grassroots’ rugby.
The book is dominated by tales of schoolboy rugby which are interspersed with anecdotes from famous South African rugby figures. In this respect it’s quite similar in style to another recent South African book, Spud by John van Der Ruit (which is also a cracking read). It is clear that Mr Knight exhaustively researched the book and constantly surprises with occult trivia, not necessarily related to rugby. In fact, he manages to work in a fairly comprehensive historical narrative that illuminates the book from the sidelines
To sum up, the book is a guaranteed win with any rugby supporter and is an enjoyable read even if you’re rugby ignorant or aren’t South African.
