Campese

- Blurb -

Once hailed as the ' Bradman of Rugby' , David Campese thrilled spectators both in Australia and overseas with his footloose, crazy-brave style of free running. This book tells the story of his rise from humble beginnings to the very top of a global sport. Once hailed as the ' Bradman of Rugby' , David Campese thrilled spectators both in Australia and overseas with his footloose, crazy-brave style of free running. This book tells the story of his rise from humble beginnings to the very top of a global sport. As a rugby player, David Campese seemed to operate on pure instinct, one that left many a defender clutching for him in vain, stranded in the slipstream of his audacity. He followed no straight path, observed no convention, and in so doing brought a whole swag of new supporters to the game. Hailed as the ' Bradman of Rugby' by former Wallaby coach Alan Jones, and the ' Pele' of Rugby by others, Campese was a match-winner. True, he could lose the odd game as well, but this was part of his unique allure- Campese took crowds to the edge of their seats . . . and their patience. The refrain ' I saw Campese play' now speaks to much more than wistful reminiscences about a player widely regarded as the most entertaining ever to play the game of Rugby Union. It has come to represent a state of chronic disbelief that the Wallaby ascendancy of Campese' s era - the style, panache, and winning ways of the Australian team in the 1980s and 1990s - has now been squandered by Rugby' s continuing struggle to adapting to the coming of professionalism. Campese occupies a unique intersection in the sport' s history- one of its last amateurs, and one of its first professionals. The rigid, robotic game of today appears incapable of accommodating a player of his dash and daring, or of replicating his teams' successes. ' A smart writer pursues one of Australia' s most elusive and enigmatic champions. The result is shrewd, measured, evocative, and, at times, transporting. ' -Gideon Haigh, author of On Warne