Before the Lions' tour to South Africa was a fortnight over the first book on the tour arrived and it is an excellent book, entitled 'Mauled'.

The title is extravagant for a team that won 2-1, thanks in part to a long-range penalty, but it is understandable. The mauling is usually done by lions and these Lions had been tipped to maul. They were beaten.

Get past the title and the rest is pure pleasure. The pictures throughout are stunning, capturing the drama, the fun, the poignant moments and the telling ones, the text is lively and there is information enough for those who want to know the details of who played and who scored.

Craig Ray, who did the writing for Jake White's autobiography, is the contributing editor and there are contributions from Morné du Plessis, who writes the foreword, Bob Skinstad who contributes a lively, 10-point 'How we Won', John Smit, the Springbok captain who writes on each of the Tests from his close perspective, Rob Houwing who writes briefly on Lions tours from 1910, and Sean Samson who writes on the venues. Those who contribute to the squads, the non-Tests, the little insights and the cleverly used quotations are Mike Greenaway and Duane Heath. Bridget McLaren and Lindsay Dettmer did the lively design.

If you are looking for controversy this is not the book - huge ticket prices, the coach's bizarre utterances, the massive moneys paid to the Lions and their demands, the high-priced tickets, the allegation of eye-gouging, an approach that was ungenerous and unloving - these things are not there and not in the nature of this positive and joyous production but in Smit's reports there is much that is interesting, insights not usually available. As one would expect they are mature and cheerful as one would expect from such an exceptional young man who captains a great rugby team.

It is certainly a pleasure to have such a book which is fun and, in an excellent balance, still a reference book for the future.

The book will be available from Exclusive Books and CNA.

Title: MAULED
Edited by David Moseley
Published by The Publishing Partnership
144 pages
Hard cover
2009
Illustrated throughout in colour
ISBN 978-0-620-44018-9

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