Becoming a Lion

Oct 21, 2024 3:01 PM

Author:Johnny Sexton

Becoming a Lion

Johnny Sexton - the man who pulled the strings for the Lions - gives an intimate insight into the rugby life in Becoming a Lion.

With three Heineken Cups and one British and Irish Lions tour victory under his belt, Johnny Sexton is by some distance the leading fly-half in the northern hemisphere. Over the course of the Lions' first victorious Test series in sixteen years, Sexton was the man pulling the strings. His try in the third test was the decisive blow, and his joyous celebrations after scoring were echoed in homes across Britain and Ireland.

Becoming a Lion is an intimate portrait of life at the highest levels of the professional game - at Leinster, with Ireland, and on tour with the Lions.

'Bracing and fascinating in equal measure' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times

'Riveting ... Opens a remarkable window into the stresses, hurts and insecurities of a professional life in rugby' Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent

'Captures all the jagged edges that make Sexton one of Irish sport's most compelling characters' Sunday Times

'Sets a great benchmark for sports autobiographies, given that it is so honest' Matt Cooper, Today FM

'Engrossing' Rugby World Ireland

'If you crave an insight into the life of a professional rugby player ... Becoming a Lion is a must' Donal Lenihan, Irish Examiner

'Intensely revealing' Irish Daily Mail

Reviews

Riveting ... Opens a remarkable window into the stresses, hurts and insecurities of a professional life in rugby

—— Vincent Hogan , Irish Independent

Bracing and fascinating in equal measure

—— Malachy Clerkin , Irish Times

It really sets for a great benchmark for sports autobiographies, given that it is so honest

—— Matt Cooper , Today FM

Captures all the jagged edges that make Sexton one of Irish sport's most compelling characters

—— Sunday Times

Engrossing

—— Rugby World Ireland

If you crave an insight into the life of a professional rugby player ... Becoming a Lion is a must

—— Donal Lenihan , Irish Examiner

Intensely revealing

—— Irish Daily Mail

An intensely readable socioeconomic study of English football in the age of globalisation

—— New Statesman

A book that informs and inspires, a truly great piece of writing

—— Philosophy Football

The best pub talker of a book for years

—— Sunday Sport

Goldblatt has a gift for exploring the way the game holds a mirror up to our lives ... His deconstruction of the modern game could hardly be bettered

—— Observer

[A] bold analysis of Britain's economic and social change refracted through football

—— The Times

A salient overview of the past quarter-century

—— Times Literary Supplement

The deserving winner of this year's William Hill Sports Book of the Year award

—— Chris Maume , Independent

This is a breakthrough book by one of the leading young lights of Australian writing

—— Cath Turner , Nudge

Despite it being an almost impossible subject to write about, Krien has produced a brilliant, disarming, thought-provoking book

—— Malachy Clerkin , Irish Times

A thought-provoking book that every aspiring male footballer should be made to read…as part of their apprenticeship

—— Susan Egelstaff , Herald

A worthy, if unexpected, winner

—— Simon Redfern , Independent On Sunday

A depressing but essential read

—— Sharon Wheeler , Times Higher Education

an intelligent and unsettling exploration of how sport’s macho culture and exclusion of women enable abuse

—— David Evans, Four Stars , Independent on Sunday

Previous Article：The Cycling Anthology Next Article：The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.