Heroics and Heartbreak: Twelve Months with the All Blacks
Wall, Jamie
Synopsis "Heroics and Heartbreak: Twelve Months with the All Blacks"
The 2019 Rugby World Cup campaign is shaping up to be the most intriguing World Cup campaign ever for the All Blacks, because they're going for their third title in a row. It will cap a decade of dominance for the team, who broke their 24-year drought in 2011 and then breezed through to win the 2015 edition. This year will be a much tougher challenge, though. The signs are there that most of the other test playing nations have gained some serious ground on the All Blacks in the last couple of seasons. This was seen in the results against England and Ireland late last year. Road to Glory? focuses on the lead up and World Cup campaign itself, which very much started in October 2018. The All Blacks went to Japan for a couple of tests and then on to Europe for three more, which was seen as a dry run for what would happen in a year's time. The tour itself was a hard slog, with the team clearly feeling the effects of a long season. Notably, coach Steve Hansen and captain Kieran Read came under considerable scrutiny throughout. Jamie Wall covers the year leading up to the cup, including Super Rugby and the Six Nations, the test season in New Zealand (and the games that will be played in Buenos Aires and Perth), then the final preparations that lead up to the squad being named. Then, a blow-by-blow account of the All Blacks' games, trainings, press conferences and dramas throughout the World Cup as Jamie follows the team through the campaign in Japan. All of which will lead to either a Triumphant final victory on November 2nd . . . or a crushing defeat that will signal a new era in world rugby.
