'If we win today, for the rest of our lives we'll be blood brothers. Nobody can do it for us. We are the twenty-two players who can go out there and create history.' 

Stuart Duncan

In 1999, Ulster – whose squad included builders, students and lorry drivers, as well as professional players – overcame the odds to become the first Irish champions of Europe. 

The Last Amateurs tells the story of how the team went, in just fourteen months, to a record-breaking 56-3 defeat to Wasps, to victories over French giants Toulouse and Stade Français to secure their place in Irish history.

Based on interviews with all the key members of the squad – including David Humphreys, Mark McCall, Simon Mason and Andy Ward – the book tells for the first time the remarkable story of the players and the team, and of the turbulent campaign that led to them being crowned kings of Europe.