Jim Telfer

As a Scotland and British and Irish Lions captain and coach, Telfer has stirred incredible controversy from his native Borders to New Zealand. He has also been the subject of much criticism, but it is now time to set the record straight. What made him lambast New Zealand rugby in the hotbed of Canterbury? Why didn't he select his favourite player of all time for a Lions tour? Which players let him, Scotland and the Lions down? And, in the opinion of one whose playing and coaching career spanned more generations than any other single figure in Scottish rugby, what was the best Scotland team of all-time? Telfer remains the only Scottish player to have faced the three southern hemisphere giants - Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - and never lost. He is the sole link between Scotland's last two Grand Slams and their Five Nations Championship triumph. A quiet Borderer with strong opinions, Telfer has intriguing views on rugby in each of the home nations, the influence of the southern hemisphere, the changing face of players and the rugby media. But this is more than a rugby book.In this candid autobiography, Telfer expresses his sadness at the prospect of life without children and his subsequent delight in adopting; how his teaching career was blighted by tragedy in Glasgow but invigorated by a long-haired eccentric in Livingston.