Tana Umaga - A Tribute to a Rugby Legend

Celebrity Books, 2006.

Tana Umaga could have been just another statistic - the son of immigrant parents, born on the wrong side of town, with no hope of success, let alone greatness. But he rose through rugby's ranks to become one of the great All Black captains after leading his team to arguably the best year of any that had gone before it in the 100-plus years of All Blacks rugby. In 2005 Tana Umaga skippered the All Blacks to Bledisloe Cup and Tri-nations success before taking his team to the Northern Hemisphere where it became only the second All Blacks side to win the coveted Grand Slam. Tana Umaga: A Tribute to a Rugby Legened chronicles the story of Jonathan Falefasa Umaga, touching on the many challenges and controversies faced by Tana as her worked his way from the Petone Club side, to Wellington and the Hurricanes and ultimately to the All Blacks in 1977. Through the quotes of many of his fellow players and coaches, as well as from the mouth of the man himself, this book tells his story in detail for the first time. Missteps off the field and a loss of confidence on it threatened to end his career before he got started on the international scene, but through nothing but hard work Umaga turned his career around to such an extent that his legacy now rests comfortably alongside the likes of Sir Wilson Whineray, Sir Brian Lochore, Graham Mourie and Sean Fitzpatrick - the All Blacks' greatest ever captains...