The Grudge

Book excerpt: 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. Fifteen men in blue jerseys are plotting the downfall of the English oppressors. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high--what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch. The Grudge brilliantly recaptures a day that has gone down in history. This is the real story of an extraordinary game, told with astounding insight and almost 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.