Eighteen months ago, New Zealander Todd R. Nicholls set out to rediscover his passion for the game of rugby. The game had been central to his life and that of his nation and yet since the advent of professionalism, it appeared to him that the spirit had been bled dry from the sport that some said was the game played in heaven. In an attempt to discover whether the spirit that made the game great still existed, Todd set off on an odyssey that saw him not only attempt to rediscover his passion, but investigate why the game had changed and in what state it was currently in. His focus was the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand. By focusing on some of the players and coaches who were likely to be involved in the series, past series and the issues around the tour, Todd set out to investigate what modern rugby is all about. Yet this book is about much more than the Lions tour. On his journey, Todd examines the state of the game in New Zealand Australia and in Britain and Ireland and provides an interesting insight into the issues facing rugby. Including interviews with Brian O’Driscoll, Tana Umaga, Clive Woodward, Graham Henry, Lawrence Dalliglio, Richard McCaw, Willie John McBride, Colin Meads, Jack Kyle, Sean Fitzpatrick, Gavin Hastings, Justin Marshall, Dan Carter and Martyn Williams, The Winter Game- Rediscovering the Passion of Rugby is a must read for anyone who cares about rugby.