by Wynne Gray - New Zealand Herald - Friday Apr 27, 2012
Before rugby went professional, this bedside bible filled out about 330 pages for sporting insomniacs, tragics and trainspotters.
These days, the annual reference book stacks on about another 100 pages as it details all the extra guff about Super 15 and the bigger test rugby schedule.
It is an immense task, but one the authors complete with a minimum error count, as shown by the small list of amendments for last year's edition.
There is a timely tribute to Jock Hobbs for his contribution to last year's World Cup, an accolade which was penned before his death last month and is now a most appropriate salute to his rugby administration work.
There is also a glowing appraisal of Martin Snedden and his dedication to the success of the World Cup.
"A position of this magnitude involved making some hard and sometimes unpopular decisions," the authors wrote. "He never wavered, and invariably his decisions were the correct ones. Potential crises were defused before they gained momentum. At all times he inspired confidence.
Full review at NZ Herald.