He tells us what motivated him to write the book. Peter Johnson enjoyed a notable rugby career as a player, coach and administrator. A former hooker, his playing achievements include winning three Oxford Blues and representing the Army, Combined Services, Surrey, Harlequins and Northampton.
He captained the Saints in the season. After hanging up his boots at 32, he became a senior coach for the RFU and managed numerous tours to far-flung destinations. The book charts the fortunes of two talented pupils, Sam Martin and female Charlie Woods, as they strive to overcome emotional and physical challenges.
Rugby World spoke to Johnson about how his book came about…. Hooker Peter Johnson playing for Saints in Gary Pearce and, right, Bobby Cox are his two props. Rugby World Why did you write this book? So I went on a writing course with the Arvon Foundation. They are terrific, it was a one-week residential course in Totleigh Barton in deepest mid-Devon. It was a formative experience and my writing became my hobby in retirement. I then worked in schools with teenagers, so I had a lot of experience of teenagers, how they behave, how they react, the traumas they have.
And then my Millfield experience was of seeing so many young people wanting to do sport beyond the norm. Not just for fun but professionally. And we had people at Millfield. We had the most extraordinary set-up. Millfield has produced nearly 50 England rugby internationals since WW2 — more than any other school in that time. To put that in context, there were 23 former Millfield people in the Commonwealth Games. And in the Tokyo Olympics there were 13 from Millfield.
People wanting to play sport at the highest level. Helen Glover was one of my pupils, she came as a very bright hockey-playing athlete and ended up as one of the best female rowers in history. Parents were so ambitious that they forgot about having options. How are you going to handle that?
