Ring Master

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Never mind Gavin Henson; Mark Ring was the first glamour boy of Welsh rugby. A misunderstood maverick or a pure genius, call him what you like, but Ringo always got people talking. From the moment he won the first of his 32 Welsh caps against England in 1983, wherever Mark Ring went, innovation, sparks and controversy were never far behind. In his glory days with Cardiff, Pontypool and Wales in the mid-to-late '80s, Ring appeared to have the rugby world at his feet. But his adventure, which spans more than two decades and takes in the sport's amateur and professional eras, is riddled with thrilling highs and heartbreaking lows, from helping Wales to a magical Triple Crown alongside Jonathan Davies in 1988 to the death of his four-day-old baby daughter following complications at birth. Ring's odyssey has seen a court appearance for theft, as well as accusations that he ripped off the great Pontypool RFC. In this revealing autobiography, Ring reveals how he was once offered thousands of pounds to throw a Five Nations match. He talks of how he risked being banished from rugby for accepting a big-money incentive to join a World XV 'rebel' tour of South Africa in 1989 while the sport was still strictly amateur, and how he nearly blew a substantial proportion of his hefty fee in one visit to a Cardiff casino. Ring also recounts how he experienced European success against all the odds as coach of minnows Caerphilly and of his disappointment at blocked opportunities by figures within the Welsh Rugby Union and Cardiff RFC. There have been more successful careers than that of Mark Ring but very few have been as colourful, and this highly entertaining account documents it superbly.

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Mark Ring is now head coach with the All-Ireland League Division Two side Old Crescent. He lives in Limerick with his partner and two children. Delme Parfitt has been a specialist rugby writer for seven years. He is head of sport content at the South Wales Echo and has previously worked for Wales on Sunday and Westgate Sports Agency.