Former Ulster and Ireland captain’s lively new book spans sectarianism, survivor’s guilt and the sterility of modern rugby
A few years ago the former Ulster and Ireland captain Willie Anderson had a chart above his coaching desk at the Ulster academy detailing four types of rugby person. In descending order, the first three were Warriors, Winners and Waverers, with the fourth category also starting with a ‘W’ and ending with an ‘S’. Now, in his unsparingly honest autobiography, he has undertaken a similar exercise and invited readers of all creeds to decide which personality boxes he ticks.
Anderson’s absorbing new book Crossing the Line, is certainly not your average rugby yarn, the subject matter ranging from Irish sectarianism, survivor’s guilt and forgiveness to passion, love and South American prison cells (more on that later). It also revisits some classic rugby moments, not least when Anderson and Ireland famously confronted the All Black haka in 1989 and went nose to nose with the fearsome Wayne Shelford. With New Zealand set to play South Africa this Saturday, how would Anderson, now 66, respond to a pre-game haka these days? A throaty Ulster chuckle rumbles forth. “If I was going to do it this weekend I’d probably kill about four or five cameramen. The referee would be trampled as well.”