Dragons and All Blacks: Wales v. New Zealand - 1953 and A Century of Rivalry

by Huw Richards

'The Bounce of the Century' they called it. A ball kicked across Cardiff Arms Park in the dying minutes of a match between two of international rugby's fiercest rivals. The world's two greatest wingers waited as it bounced towards them, knowing that whoever caught the ball would score and win the match for his country.Dragons and All Blacks tells what happened when Wales played New Zealand in 1953. The story is written from contemporary accounts and the memories of the men who played that day, including Bob Stuart and Bleddyn Williams, for many of whom the match was the highlight of a career.The book retells the stories of the two teams and the men who played for them, and charts the events of their how they got to that meeting point in Cardiff in December 1953 and what has happened to them in the half-century since.Dragons and All Blacks examines the remarkable relationship between two countries on opposite sides of the world, brought together by a mutual passion for rugby with few parallels elsewhere. It shows how their rivalry has developed over a century - from perhaps the greatest of all rugby matches in 1905 to the single-point thriller of 2004 - and looks to its future in the aftermath of the 2005 Welsh Grand Slam and Lions tour of New Zealand.

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Huw Richards is the rugby correspondent of the Financial Times.

Reviews

[Barry Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good informative book about a very famous game of rugby between 2 of the most passionate rugby union countries. It gives a history of rugby between the 2 countries plus does the same thing with the players of the game before the famous game. It does the same after the game with players and game in each country. A recommended book for any rugby fan let alone from New Zealand or Wales.