Books: Power struggle for the soul of rugby

The Rugby War By Peter Fitzsimons

(Harper Collins, pounds 9.99)

Anyone who salutes the late Cap'n Bob (Robert Maxwell) as Peter Fitzsimons does in his book The Rugby War must at least raise an eyebrow at his choice of adjectives, if not a pertinent question or two on his ability to assess a character.

Fitzsimons, a former Australian lock who is now a celebrated rugby journalist Down Under, describes the former Daily Mirror proprietor as a "famed British financier" when many other people might have used very different words. For all that, Fitzsimons has tackled a (frequently uninteresting) saga for control of the game with a certain amount of verve.

It is impossible for the reader to avoid the impression that the wisdom of Fitzsimons' hindsight is being credited as foresight when the author reproduces discussions between the protagonists in his chronicle of the birth of the Super 12 tournament, the southern hemisphere's sop to televisual entertainment dreamed up as much to generate income for its creators and investors as it was to launch the amateur game into the world of professionalism. In fact, it has proved an unprecedented success and is regarded as the way forward for rugby union at a level immediately below the international game.

Eventually, Fitzsimons charts the race to set it up between two teams of three men - all of them influential in their own spheres. On the one hand there was a triumvirate of enterprising, and very wealthy, businessmen who formed the World Rugby Corporation and, on the other, key figures in the three southern hemisphere ruling bodies. The leading light of the WRC team was Ross Turnbull, and although the trio were dubbed a circus by the unions, WRC was chiefly responsible for the unification of the three unions into the Super 12 governing body. WRC may have failed in its venture to form a professional tournament which would have encompassed international matches, indeed there would have been a virtual World Cup on an annual basis, but it certainly provided the kick up the backside that the amateur game needed in order to propel it into the 21st century.

Fitzsimons has a certain facility with narrative, which manages to carry the reader along at an interesting and interested pace. But there are elements of his style which irritate. From a political standpoint, Fitzsimons claims that he has no axe to grind with either side of the saga, but he certainly splits infinitives with the ease of a seasoned linguistic lumberjack. However, he has clearly had access to hitherto unpublished material and he provides a great deal of detail in recording all the meetings that both teams held during a fraught year.

Overall, this is a worthy chronicle of one of the most tumultuous years in the history of world rugby. It is a gripping read and it is unlikely that many other writers could instil such a sense of fascination with what was a complex subject. Fitzsimons is to be congratulated, but what a shame the book could not have been published in this country a little earlier.