Nick Mallett: The Story So Far by Dobson, Paul
Nick Mallett: The Story So Far
The Inside Account of Strategic Vision, Team Revitalisation, and the Legendary 17-Match Winning Streak
The Inside Account of Strategic Vision, Team Revitalisation, and the Legendary 17-Match Winning Streak
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Nick Mallett: The Story So Far
- Author: Paul Dobson
- Publisher: Struik Publishers, Cape Town
- Publication Date: 1999
- ISBN-10: 1868722015
- ISBN-13: 9781868722013
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing. Standard Trade Softcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium illustrated heavy-gauge card wrappers with a distinct high-gloss laminated finish (paperback).
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 176 pages. Thoroughly illustrated and enhanced with a central repository of high-contrast black-and-white and full-colour match action photography documenting his historic coaching milestones.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Wraps: The original softcover illustrated wrappers are in beautiful condition, presenting a nice shiny copy with vibrant color depth and full glossy lamination. Face panels remain remarkably flat and square, showing only minimal, highly limited signs of superficial handling. The spine is completely pristine, straight, uncreased, and unbroken, proving the book has been highly looked after thus far.
- Interior: The internal text block is robustly bound, tight, and highly crisp. All 176 leaves are clean, bright, and completely intact. The entire text features no inscription, modern user underlying, highlighting, library stamps, or dealer pencil markings.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1999 at the absolute zenith of his early coaching era, Nick Mallett: The Story So Far is a brilliant, real-time chronicle of the charismatic mastermind who breathed fresh life and tactical confidence into South African rugby. Stepping into the head coach role during a turbulent period of transition, Mallett transformed the national squad into an untouchable global powerhouse driven by pure passion, energy, and unyielding discipline.
Acclaimed rugby historian Paul Dobson delivers an immediate, raw window into the strategic mind behind the historic, record-equaling 17-match international winning streak—a legendary run that saw the Springboks completely dominate the 1998 Tri-Nations tournament and crush the heavyweights of the northern hemisphere. Bypassing modern retrospective filters, the narrative tracks Mallett's journey from an elite Western Province loose-forward and tactical mastermind in France to the absolute apex of world rugby selection. This premium first-edition collectible copy serves as an essential primary historical archive for sports historians and rugby union purists tracking the dawn of full sport professionalism.
Author Profile: Paul Dobson
Paul Dobson (1937–2020) was a monumental titan of South African sports journalism, a widely revered rugby historian, and a recipient of the prestigious IRB Chairman’s Award for his services to the global game. The author of over twenty authoritative rugby volumes—including the definitive histories of SA rugby refereeing and the structures of Western Province—Dobson was highly praised for his deep academic integrity, meticulous archival research, and engaging prose style.
Dobson’s unique literary talent and profound insider access to elite changerooms allowed him to cut through standard public relations spin to examine the eccentric characters and tactical philosophies that shape sports history. His expert handling of technical game mechanics and deep love for the sport ensure that his biographies serve as an authoritative, definitive primary historical record of South Africa’s rich rugby heritage.
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