David Hill: The Name of the Game

By MARGIE THOMSON

It's 1981 and the South African Springbok team is in New Zealand to play the All Blacks. Debate rages at all levels of the community over whether the sportsmen from the apartheid-riven country should be here at all.

Friendships and families are torn apart, and at South Valley College Alan and his mates are furious about what the protesters are doing to their beloved game of rugby. But as the days go by, Alan and his friend Tau start to think the issues through, especially after their rugby coach resigns and joins the protest marches. The arguments for and against the tour which is, of course, ancient history for today's secondary school students, are all presented in lively, convincing conversations, and Hill has clearly done heaps of media research, bringing to life newspaper coverage, television debates and broadcasts of the day. Alongside the intense, gripping drama of that period of New Zealand's history, though, is the story Hill has created of a teenage boy trapped between different points of view, finding his own opinion (which involves the difficult process of changing his mind) and then acting in support of his beliefs. A fine story and a terrific resource for schools.

Mallinson Rendel

$15.95