Lion Man - A Book Review

British and Irish Lions legend Ian McGeechan's new book Lion Man: The Autobiography is an exciting insight into the mind of one of rugby's legendary coaches. McGeechan renowned as a Lion's player and coach details his experiences and explains what makes the Lions such a special enterprise. His insiders approach takes the reader into the locker room with some of the great Lion's teams of our era.

McGeechan began his international career with Scotland, playing flyhalf and center while winning 32 caps. He also made 30 appearances for the Lions and was a integral member of the 1974 team that is considered by many to be the best of all time. His coaching career included stops at Northhampton, London Wasps, and Scotland (winning the Grand Slam over in England in 1990). However, he is most famous for his four stints as head coach of the British and Irish Lions (no other coach has had more than one). He won two of the series and was unlucky not to have won the 2009 series in South Africa. His playing and coaching career makes McGeechan a living legend in rugby.

This is an exciting book and is well-written, although at times a bit redundant. Perhaps the only disappointment (especially for coaches trying to glean coaching secrets) is that McGeechan spends very little time discussing coaching technique. However, this is more than made up for by the fascinating and frank discussion of the Lions experience and future. This is a must read for coaches and anyone interested in understanding the culture of the Lions and the insights of the Northern Hemisphere's greatest coach.

All-Americans

Former St. Thomas Eagles Andres Diaz, Conor Mills, and Paul Rogers were named to the U20 USA National team (Junior All-Americans) and played in the US Collegiate All-Star tournament held in Denver this June. The All-Americans played against the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate All-Stars and New England All-Stars during the tournament, in which the went 1-1. A thrill for STH fans occured when Mills matched up at flyhalf against former teammate Alex Reeves (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), who was playing for the New England side. The U20s finished their assembly against the University of Cardiff (Wales - last year's runner-up in Great Britain's collegiate championships). Diaz and Mills are teammates at Texas A&M University and Paul Rogers plays for Louisiana State University. "This is very exciting for STH rugby," said STH head coach Jim Wolfinger, "to have so many former players playing at such a high level is a thrill and testament to the hard work they put in while on campus." "We could not be more proud of our guys and wish them continued success."

Eagle Ruggers Represent

St. Thomas rugby was well-represented during the Rocky Mountain Challenge Cup in June. The Rocky Mt. Challenge Cup is the premier all-star rugby event (age-grade) in the United States and is a selection vehicle for national team selection. Dixon Garnett, Sebastian Gracia, and John Boudreaux were named to the Texas U17 all-star team. Ryan Sullivan, Paul Rogers (LSU), Will Gutkowski, Conor Mills (TAMU), and Kingsley McGowan were selected to the Texas U19 squad that won the Rocky Mt. Challenge with a thrilling 7-3 victory over defending champion Utah. The U19 squad defeated Minnesota 33-22, Arizona 41-0, and Wisconsin 29-10 on their way to the final. McGowan scored the winning try in the championship match off a thrilling run through the Utah defense. The Texas defense was forced to hold Utah during a five minute goal line stand at the end of the match to secure the victory. Conor Mills and Paul Rogers were both named to the All-Tournament team.