The Flying Prince: Alexander Obolensky: The Rugby Hero Who Died Too Young

A first biography from Hugh Godwin, rugby correspondent of the i, and a fine fist he’s made of it too * Best Rugby Books 2021 *It is well-researched vignettes such as this, deftly side-stepping the main story, that make Hugh Godwin’s tale of Obolensky a pleasure to read. There are plenty of colourful characters, such as Geoffrey Bell, Obolensky’s headmaster, who was fond of making the boys take a naked cold dip in the outdoor pool every morning; or WTS Stallybrass, a sozzled Brasenose don who died falling off a train on his way back from dinner, after mistaking the carriage door for the lavatory * The Times *‘Expertly fills in the gaps … Now we have a biography his story deserves’ * The Rugby Paper *The fascinating tale of the Russian-born aristocrat who helped England beat the All-Blacks for the first time * John Aizlewood, i news *Compelling * Gavin Mairs, Telegraph *

Hugh Godwin is a sports journalist who is the rugby union correspondent of the i, a national daily newspaper in the UK. He has held that role since April 2016 and before that he had the same position with the Independent on Sunday for eight years. Overall, he has written on rugby and other sports for thirty years, reporting live from five Rugby World Cup finals, and he has interviewed every major rugby player and personality of the modern era. He is a regular broadcaster as a rugby analyst for BBC Radio London, and he is the secretary of the UK Rugby Union Writers’ Club. In 2004 he wrote England: Rugby World Champions, a book celebrating England’s 2003 World Cup success. This is his first biography.