Bøker av Tom Mather

In the hearts and minds of most rugby league supporters Albert Baskerville is looked upon as the founder of international rugby league. While it is true that he played a big part in that arena there is another who deserves the same credit if not more. That man is the much-maligned Australian, James Giltinan who took the Australian rugby league team to England in 1908.That tour is remembered mainly for the financial disaster off the field and the so called poor performances on the field. This book examines that tour in detail and makes some observations that put Giltinan in a new light. There is little doubt it was his efforts while in England in cajoling the Northern Union Committee and the clubs themselves that a tour to Australia was vital. It was he felt vital to the survival of the game both in England and Australia.It was he who planted the idea of a tour, nurtured that idea and ensured the Northern Union examined the possibility of touring down under. Sadly, Gilitnan got no credit for all his efforts in this area. That first tour took place in 1910 and with it began a four year cycle of tours by England and Australia that helped ensure the survival of the game.On the playing side of that 1908 tour the players came literally within minutes of winning the series. This in spite of an unfathomable selection policy adopted while in the old country. Had they done so perhaps history would have judged Giltinan in a different light. Perhaps it is time we now did so.

This book deals with the sporting life of fifteen Australian Rugby League players who almost reached the pinnacle of their sporting career. Sadly, for many reasons, they were to fall at the final hurdle. The book also gives fascinating insights into the players' lives off the field-one player gaining the second-highest military honour during World War I and another dying while en route to England to represent his country. One player was to lose his life in the most bizarre and mysterious circumstances while another remains somewhat of a mystery even to this day. Whilst essentially a book about Rugby League players, it is also a book about the extraordinary lives of sportsmen.