It's in the early morning, usually on dry, icy cold, thorn-strewn fields, that rugby legends are created. The boys are kaalvoet, the linesmen are spectators, sometimes unwillingly plucked from the makeshift stands, and the aroma of boerewors on hot coals drifts across the field. It is here that the love for the game of rugby is born, where passion is first ignited. Between the Lines is a journey to the heart of South Africa's rugby spirit. Join Matthew Knight as he travels from Bishops in Cape Town — the birthplace of rugby in South Africa — to the hallowed corridors of Hilton College and Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal, to dusty platteland dorps where Bok greats such as Os du Randt were nurtured, and Grey College in Bloemfontein, the undisputed nursery for future Springboks. Knight meticulously mines South Africa's rich rugby heritage and interviews some of the former and current greats of the game. Characters such as Schalk Burger Snr and son, 'Skonk' Nicholson (South Africa's longest-serving coach), Mark Andrews and Nick Mallett, among many others, share their memories of the game that has left an indelible impression on their lives, as well as the lives of those who cheered them on from the stands. This is Knight's quest to discover the foundation of Springbok success: schools' rugby.
