WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN MCCALLUM: Springbok coach could learn from the northern hemisphere, or a good book on rugby
The Six Nations starts this weekend and, with it the battle for places in the Lions tour of New Zealand later in 2017
On the opening page of my copy of Teach Yourself Rugby Football is a message from a father to his son written in 1965: "Gustav. Read this book carefully. Lots of fun and enjoy your rugger. Good luck. Dad." The book was published in the 60s by FNS (Frederick Norman Smith) Creek, who was called Norman by his mates. He won a military cross in the First World War, played football for England and cricket for Wiltshire. He wrote cricket for the Daily Telegraph and penned Teach Yourself books on lawn tennis, cricket, football and hockey. Peter Minto’s biography on the man claimed he had "revolutionised the coaching of football throughout the nation".The book has sound advice. "It is a good thing to have six studs in each sole; this gives a good grip when swerving and it cannot be too strongly emphasised that outsides [backs] especially should immediately replace any lost or loose stud. Shorts should be as strong as possible and it is an advantage if they have pockets because you can often ...
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