Winning!: The path to Rugby World Cup glory

Loved every bit of it. Gave a true insight into what they all went through to bring glory to england!!!!

For any lover of rugby lover or person looking for a route to excellence, this is a really inspiring book.

As a Englishman living in Wales I found this an interesting read. I believe the approach Clive Woodward used at the time was ground-breaking in international Rugby but he was also lucky enough to have a "Golden Generation" of players of which to build it with - if we look at Martin Johnson using similar methods the results are less successful. Overall a good read and I would recommend it to any Coach/Manager who wishes to improve performance of a team in a sustainable manner over time!

Brilliant! What a team he built for 2003. That sort of dominance doesn't come easily and he describes all the management input that was required, and the change in attitude from being plucky losers ("it's taking part that counts") to being winners.

I bought this for my husband who is not much of a reader however this book he never could put down and it helped him a lot during his rugby coaching!

Superb book written by a true old school business man. Work hard, delegate thoughtfully, reap the rewards.

I consider this man a genius...not only for his clear love of rugby but for his tactical thinking and ability to think outside the box...good read for any coach out there

The irony of it ! I read this book at the same time that Sir Clive's British Lions team were getting mangled by the All Blacks of New Zealand. It would certainly make an interesting postscript to the book to read Sir Clive's take on what went wrong for him and the Lions team. Having said that, I don't think that he would shirk from giving us a warts and all appraisal of what he himself did , for this is a frank and honest account of Sir Clive's life and career, the ups, and just as frequently the downs. However, he probably wouldn't point the finger at any of the players. Which for me is a little bit of a weakness of his book. There is more to this book than rugby, but since its rugby that has brought Sir Clive his greatest success in the public eye, then a large proportion of the book is dedicated to his careers as first player then manager in the oval ball sport. You might not have known that Sir Clive made his debut as a player for England in the 1980 5 Nations championship, a year in which England achieved the Grand Slam, our one lonely success between the Triple Crown of 1963, and the Carling-led Grand Slam of 1991. If you're not at least interested in sport - in fact, if you're not interested in rugby - then I should warn you that there is a lot of it in this book. However, even if you're not, Sir Clive has some very interesting things to say about the whole idea of achievement , and what makes the difference between success and failure - and not just on the rugby field either. For me, the most interesting sections dealt with Sir Clive's often very frustrating dealings with the RFU in the early part of his tenure as manager, trying to change a leadership and management culture which owed far more to the nineteenth century than the twenty first. One thing I should probably warn you about is that Sir Clive is very loyal to his players. If you are expecting any juicy titbits of who did what to whom, or said what, or who had a punch up with whom in the dressing room, then forget it. There is no dressing room gossip of this sort, and no huge criticism of any player. This is totally admirable from one point of view, as it avoids the kind of reaction that Glen Hoddle's World Cup Diary got from his players, but from another point of view it does make for rather a frustrating read at times. When you think of the great players that Sir Clive has managed - Johnson , Dallaglio, Back, Guscott and Wilkinson to name but a few, they hardly spring off the page in this book, I'm afraid. Its a disappointment. However, lets not forget that Sir Clive managed England to the World Cup, and for me as well as many other England fans, it was worth reading the book just to get his take on that momentous sporting achievement, and to relive it all. Its not , for me, the best autobiography from anyone involved in that World Cup triumph. That honour belongs to Martin Johnson's autobiography , but its an interesting read. Probably for die hard England fans only, though.

Libro ben scritto, in un inglese comprensibile con tante perle utili a chi si occupa di sport e di gestione di risorse umane. Vale veramente la pena leggerlo.

IF your a rugby fan you'll probably soak this book up in 1 reading. IF your not a rugby fan you'll probably become one. The book packs a double punch and does it briliantly: On the one hand it is a fascinating story of how a national sports team goes from 6th in the world to global domination. On the other hand it is simply one of the best management books around. Lessons like: T-CUP (Thinking correctly under pressure) Energisers vs. energy sappers Teamship rules The crazy Dentist The "IF" counting exercise Humphrey walter's "Noses pointing in one direction" etc etc etc. Absolutley, blindingly brilliant.

This book is one that I constantly refer back to in all of my coaching adventures. It is a great showcase of how to blend business and rugby together to maximize both your on field product and how to sell it off the pitch. It is a must read for any coach who is serious about his or her's rugby.

He doesn't cut corners in his drive to success and this book is a blueprint for aspiring managers in any sport/business. He lacks warmth in the clinical nature of his dealings with the team but then again you are forewarned that there is no gossip or secrets revealed in the book. This is a pity as these details could highlight how he managed to deal with such adversity. Either way, he is an admirable man and it is a good read.

Simply superb. I Was happy with the quality of the book and its a great read. Any coach or leader looking to get their team working in synergy, this book sheds some insight of how to obtain that. Thanks. Osi.