This book tells the story of his rise from humble beginnings to the very top of a global sport.
As a rugby player, Campese seemed to operate on cross-grained pure instinct; hailed as the ‘Bradman of rugby’ by former Wallaby coach Alan Jones, and the ‘Pele’ of rugby by others, Campese was a match-winner.
The refrain ‘I saw Campese play’ now speaks to much more than wistful reminiscences about a player widely regarded as the most entertaining ever to play the game of Rugby Union.
Campese occupies a unique intersection in rugby’s history: one of its last amateurs and one of its first professionals.
He had shown, too, that coming from outside the traditional bastions of rugby — the private schools and universities — was no barrier to reaching the top. Indeed, he challenged that establishment and unsettled it, warning in the early 1990s that the code risked ‘dying’ if more was not done to expand its appeal.
Campese revolutionised how the game was played and appreciated. His genius captured the national and sporting imagination. The rigid, robotic rugby of today appears incapable of accommodating a player of his dash and daring.
Author James Curran, a professor of Modern History at Sydney University, played rugby as a five-eighth in the lower grades of the Sydney club competition in the early 1990s and writes about rugby for Midi-Olympique, a French bi-weekly newspaper specialising in rugby.
Campese: The Last of the Dream Sellers by James Curran is published by Scribe, RRP $32.99.
HOW TO ENTER
For a chance to win this book, send your name, address, daytime phone number and the answer to this question: What is the name of the dog in today’s Man’s Best Friend? to: Country Life ‘Campese’ Competition, PO Box 8000, Shepparton, 3632, by Friday, March 25.
WINNER
Congratulations to Dianne McConnell who won our ‘All at Sea’ competition.
