Phil Larder MBE played for Oldham RLFC before becoming the director of coaching in British Rugby League in 1982, and joined Clive Woodward's England team as defensive coach in 1997. Nick Bishop is an elite performance consultant and author of Seeing Red and The Good the Bad and the Ugly, both shortlisted for the BSBA Sports Book of the Year.

Klappentext

The Iron Curtain tells the story of rugby pioneer Phil Larder, the first coach to break through the hidden wall between rugby league and union. The journey starts with Phil's upbringing as a player, takes in the 1980s rugby league revolution he sparked as national coaching director, and his jump across the barricades to rugby union in 1997. The authors examine how rugby league ideas revolutionized the concept of defense in union and changed the face of the game forever, and discuss the scientific "quantum leaps" in analysis and conditioning under Sir Clive Woodward that led to triumph in 2003. In a book that will appeal to rugby lovers of both codes, Phil reveals the sources of his coaching inspiration, the players he loved working with, and the secrets of his defensive innovation, giving his frank views on the English Premiership and the two Lions tours in which he was involved.