Huia Books
 Share this product | Against the Odds - Matt Te Pou and Maori RugbyAgainst the Odds : Matt Te Pou and Maori Rugby traces the evolution of the New Zealand Maori team during the professional rugby era, as seen through the eyes of the players and coach Matt Te Pou - one of the most influential Maori figures in the game. There's nothing especially remarkable about the Ashburton Showgrounds and not a place that you would expect to have been the starting point for a major revolution in New Zealand Maori rugby. Yet it was. It was an environment that Matt Te Pou was to solidify significantly during a decade of success unparalleled for the New Zealand Maori team. Fittingly, given that Matt Te Pou did more than any other single person to preserve and enhance the New Zealand Maori side amid the turbulence and uncertainty that was created as the professional game developed, Matt was sent out a winner. But the on-field picture only tells half of the story. As much as the account of the last decade of the New Zealand Maori team is one of on-field success, it is also the story of how a people's pride manifested itself in some of this country's finest rugby players. The book highlights the development of the players' personal, cultural and rugby skills from 1995-2001 and how Te Pou's upbringing and military service in Vietnam helped him shape the vision he bought to the team. There are moments of sheer triumph and heartbreak, as well as an insider's view of some of the more colourful incidents in the modern history of the New Zealand Maori team -both on the field and away from it! Against the Odds : Matt Te Pou and Maori Rugby is an intriguing insight into the national treasure that is the New Zealand Maori team. It's a rugby story with a difference."
Category: Non-Fiction | Sport | SPECIALS |