My Pride of Lions by Fran Cotton
My Pride of Lions (Tour Manager's Account in Dust Jacket)
The 1997 British Lions Tour of South Africa, Told by the Tour Manager Who Led the Squad
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: My Pride of Lions: The British Isles Tour of South Africa 1997
- Author: Fran Cotton
- Publisher: Ebury Press, London
- Publication Date: 1997
- ISBN-13: 9780091854225
- ISBN-10: 0091854229
- Edition Details: First Edition, first printing sequence as indicated by the printer's number line (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 pattern).
- Binding: Publisher's red cloth boards with matching spine, in an illustrated colour photographic dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo) hardcover, 224 pages. With a section of colour photographic plates.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior / Boards: The plain red cloth boards and matching spine are clean, with no visible damage or fading. Corners and edges are sharp. The top and fore-edge are clean and lightly toned.
- Interior: The pages are cream, clean and tight, with no markings, foxing or stains. The binding is sound.
- The Dust Jacket: Present. The illustrated colour photographic jacket is clean and bright with no tears, and shows only slight surface dust marking to the back panel. It is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in London by Ebury Press in 1997, My Pride of Lions is Fran Cotton's account of the British Isles tour of South Africa that year. Cotton was tour manager, and writes from the centre of the operation: the selection of the squad, the planning and preparation, and the tour itself.
The tour came at a pivotal moment, as Rugby Union moved into the professional era. The book follows the campaign match by match and gives particular attention to the three Tests, which the Lions won 2-1.
For collectors of rugby literature and of South African sporting history, it is a first-hand record of one of the best-remembered Lions tours, from a man who had himself toured with the Lions as a player.
Author Profile: Fran Cotton
Fran Cotton (born 1947) was an England and British Lions prop forward. He was capped for England between 1971 and 1981 and toured with the Lions in 1974, 1977 and 1980.
After retiring he remained in rugby administration and founded a clothing company. He was tour manager of the 1997 Lions in South Africa, the subject of this book.
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