'If we win today, for the rest of our lives we'll be blood brothers. Nobody can do it for us. We are the twenty-two players who can go out there and create history.'

Stuart Duncan

In 1999, Ulster – whose squad included builders, students and lorry drivers, as well as professional players – overcame the odds to become the first Irish champions of Europe.

The Last Amateurs tells the story of how the team went, in just fourteen months, to a record-breaking 56–3 defeat to Wasps, to victories over French giants Toulouse and Stade Français to secure their place in Irish history.

Based on interviews with all the key members of the squad – including David Humphreys, Mark McCall, Simon Mason and Andy Ward – the book tells for the first time the remarkable story of the players and the team, and of the turbulent campaign that led to them being crowned kings of Europe.

Jonathan Bradley

Books