Definitive history 'a must' for all rugby fans
Only 3,000 copies of The Lions - The Complete History of the British and Irish Rugby Union team 1888-2005 will be published.
'I'm delighted about this book for it records the traditions of the Lions, a team which has been around for more than a century. It is bound in leather and printed on archival paper and is a must for all keen rugby fans,' says Willie John McBride.
The 400-page book, which will capture the 117-year history of the Lions, will have 600 photographs and items of memorabilia, many rare and unseen and assembled from archives and players' collections from around the world.
Written by David Walmsley, the book will also have contributions by Lions captains and test opponents, 27 in total, to provide a colourful account of events on and off the field.
Statistics for each tour have been meticulously researched and a fully illustrated and written account of this year's tour to New Zealand will also be included. The book will come out in September.
Books numbered one to 1,000, are bound in rich leather with the pages gilded. They will cost #595 ($8,400). Copies numbered 1,001 to 3,000 are hand bound in buckram over-padded boards. These will cost #295.
Every book will be signed by four British Lions captains and three opposing team captains. The first 500 classic leather copies will be signed by Willie John McBride, John Dawes, Brian Lochore, Morne du Plessis, John Eales, Bill Beaumont and Gavin Hastings.
