Full title The Grudge : Scotland vs. England, 1990
ISBN: 9780224082761
Did you know that 1990 was twenty years ago. Twenty! That’s a long time. I always sort of feel that the ninties were just a couple of years ago, but no, it is 2010 now. Almost 2011. That means that the 90’s happened a long long time ago. And that is what reading this book feels like. Rugby was a very different game back then. It wasn’t professional for one thing. There were no video refs, no citing commisioners, and things could get very nasty. But it was also the end of something politically. In Britain Margaret Thatcher was on her way out. People were rioting over the poll tax, and Scotland felt especially hard hit. Stir that political hatred for the “damn English” into the mix alongside sporting rivalries, the desire to win, a growing nationalist movement, and you end up with a grudge match to beat all grudge matches.