Paddy O'Brien by Bob Howitt
Players and spectators want the rugby referee to be No 31, not No 1, which is why Southlander Paddy O'Brien has been such a popular adjudicator since he broke into top-level refereeing almost a decade ago. At 42, O'Brien claims more than 160 first-class appointments, including 21 tests. Ranked among the top echelon of referees in the world, he has controlled World Cup events, Six Nations fixtures and had charge of the deciding Australia-British Lions test in Sydney in 2001. Having refereed every major rugby nation in the world, O'Brien is in a unique position to expound on the game and its personalities, which he intends to do in his biography. One game about which he particularly wants to set the record straight is the France-Fiji World Cup encounter at Toulouse in 1999, for which he received a shellacking. It is the one black spot in an otherwise distinguished refereeing career - and one that Paddy will talk frankly about. Seldom has New Zealand had a more popular, internationally-rated referee ...and seldom have they been so marvellously unobtrusive both on and off the field.
Since the retirement of the legendary T.P. McLean, Auckland's Bob Howitt has assumed the mantle as the doyen of Kiwi rugby scribes. Howitt is the author of numerous best-selling books on the game and was founding editor of Rugby News - an institution in New Zealand sports publishing since 1970. After he resigned his position on Rugby News in 1996, Howitt founded the immensely successful New Zealand rugby monthly, NZ Rugby World.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781869589868 |
| ISBN 10 | 1869589866 |
| Title | Paddy O'Brien |
| Author | Bob Howitt |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand |
| Year published | 2004-06-30 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |