Paul Lewis writes about rugby, cricket, league, football, yachting, golf, the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

About 1000 years ago, I was selected for the Auckland B rugby team. Unfortunately, fate intervened with a broken leg, and I never got the chance to play. The guy who took my spot went on to play for Auckland for over three years. I didn’t make it back because a career in journalism got in the way – though I still managed to play (lower level) club rugby and cricket in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the UK, the latter during a stint with the Daily Mail and a couple of UK provincial papers. After serving as a political and crime reporter, as well as an editor of a national magazine, I made a switch to sports journalism. I covered first-class rugby and cricket, spending five years with the All Blacks, reporting on two Rugby World Cups, four Olympics, two Commonwealth Games, and three America’s Cups. In between, I wrote four books and took on roles as the managing director/Asia-Pacific managing director of two PR consultancies based in Singapore and Bangkok. Through all of this, I maintained my connection with sports by continuing to play rugby, along with a bit of cricket and football despite the long work hours.