Review: Behind the Silver Fern - The Players Speak

It seems now that whenever a prominent player resigns he does one of two things: Head off overseas to play in Europe or have someone write a biography for him. Both are great money spinners, one takes the player away from New Zealand and the other can be hit or miss.

It's not the players fault that they chase the coin, neither is it their fault that they may not be the most interesting subject to read 500 pages about. Often the game itself is left behind and the ego of the player is the only focus. The trick then is to write about more than one player - or have them all contribute to one book as Lynn McConnell and Tony Johnson have done in Behind the Silver Fern - The Players Speak.

Both gents have rugby flowing through their veins and spend more than just rugby season living and breathing New Zealand's game. Over the course of the book the two authors collect memories and recollections from 150 greats of the game spanning nearly close to 140 years of Webb Ellis' popular sport.

Many rugby fans will have watched momentous games, such as the first Rugby World Cup win or the infamous 1981 Springbok tour. However, as this book reveals, there was much more going on in the minds of the players than just the flour bombs overhead. Hearing directly from the players that were on the field in those games and many, many more, gives such a unique perspective and adds tremendously to the depth of each game.

Each decade and each major series, has anecdotes from the major players involved as they saw them, as they happened. Egos and subjectivity be damned as the game itself is what McConnell and Johnson draw out for the reader's privilege.

A great example from Behind the Silver Fern - The Players Speak is hearing from the teammates of Keith Murdoch, the one and only All Black to be sent home. The detail the players share gives further weight to the enormity of the event and helps people today understand the outrage and shock that was experienced by the fans at the time.

Pertinently, various Lion's tours over the years get a few chapters dedicated to them. Hopefully the currently generation of All Blacks take a few notes - and hopefully the authors take a few notes for the next version after the dust has settled when this years Lions leave with their tails tucked firmly between their legs.

The book has impressed worldwide and is a finalist in the rugby section of the Cross Awards - and from what I've seen in this, it stands a very good chance. It's a must for any rugby enthusiast wanting to get inside the locker room for those great days gone by of New Zealand rugby.

Behind the Silver Fern - The Players Speak was commissioned and published in the UK by Polaris Publishing, and published in New Zealand by Mower.