Upfront: The Jeff Probyn Story by Jeff Probyn & Barry Newcombe Presentation copy inscribed & signed by Jeff Probyn in green ink on the second page thus: "To Steve Merry Christmas Jeff Probyn"; Mainstream Publishing 1993 1st ed, 191pp., text generally in decent order albeit with slight browning to the photo sections & an old erased pencil price & date just visible to the top right hand corner of the title page, slight browning to the page extremities at the very top, side & bottom, spine slightly cocked & boards very slightly warped, slight bumping & rubbing to board corners, to the top & sides of both boards - heavier to the bottom of the rear board & top of spine & very much heavier to the base of the spine/front bottom left hand/rear bottom right hand corners, front board has a couple of very small bumps/indentations, the price-clipped dust jacket has slight internal & external browning & is worn, creased & marked. Book = good; jacket = good-. Jeff Probyn made an extraordinary journey from the heart of London's East End (Bethnal Green), where he was born, to the front row of an epoch-making England rugby team, with whom he won a record 37th cap at prop just short of his 37th birthday. Probyn did not break into the England side until 1988, but he then became an anchor figure in the highly successful period which brought the team two Grand Slams and a place in the 1991 World Cup Final. His uncompromising approach to the art of scrummaging brought him many admirers - and critics - and his story comes from the focal point of the game where physical strength and courage are under constant examination. In this autobiography he charts his career from schooldays to Twickenham, his battles with the best teams in the world, and the highs and lows of playing for his country. He also looks at the rapidly changing face of club rugby, and predicts a further revolution to come. After retirement from playing, Probyn was a member of Club England, the Rugby Football Union Committee. He was the manager of the England U21 team from 1994 to 1997 during which time he introduced Clive Woodward and Andy Robinson as coaches to representative rugby. After managing the U21 teams tour of Australia, where they played as a warm up for the first ever Cooke cup game between England and Australia, he returned to the RFU council and sat on the Club England group that elected Woodward as England coach. He sat on the 2006 review that saw the replacement of England's World Cup winning coaches with the team, led by Martin Johnson. He is also a regular on talkSPORT. Will ship by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed for, well packaged. (£5.99/josipovici)