Inside the Cup: Secrets Behind Our All Black Campaigns

Book excerpt: Inside the changing sheds, the gyms, the hotels and on the field with the All Blacks at each Rugby World Cup – a tournament that grips the nation. Inside the Cup is the definitive story of the triumphs, oddities, heartbreaks, dramas and disasters of every All Black campaign at the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand rugby's master storyteller, Phil Gifford, takes you behind the scenes to relive the action as it happened and as told by those directly involved. You'll find out why Buck Shelford was dropped, which All Blacks were actually sick before the 1995 final, why Taine Randell believes he shouldn't have been captain in 1999, what exactly led to Graham Henry being reappointed as coach despite the miserable result in 2007, and why Steven Donald is called Beaver. Gifford knows all of the players and personalities – he was there. He details a fascinating and often tumultuous journey, from a boozy dinner in Cardiff where the idea for a global tournament first got off the ground, to the breathtaking finale of the victorious 2011 Cup. Inside the Cup is the perfect book for every true rugby fan.