Four Hundred Words at Five-Thirty with ‘Nannies’: Inside the Lost World of Sports Journalism

Peter Bills has spent the past 40 years writing about rugby for newspapers in Britain and around the world. He now shares his extraordinary experiences from a career blessed with an indecent amount of fun, unleashing a barrage of anecdotes and lifting the lid on the hidden world of sportswriting – on the characters, stars and their amazing stories. As a leading freelance writer, Peter learned the wiliest tricks of his trade. Whether conning French police, dashing between airports or collecting crazy interviews, his life has been an incredible series of escapades. The 70s, 80s and 90s were the halcyon days of sports journalism, when reporters could rove worldwide with a typewriter and a licence to set the sporting agenda. Peter Bills has been an ever-present observer throughout rugby’s greatest era, collaborating on the autobiographies of many of its greatest stars. His own behind-the-scenes memoir is informative, irreverent and hugely entertaining.