Don McRae
LightNews LightNews
banner
donmcrae.bsky.social
Don McRae
@donmcrae.bsky.social
690 followers 99 following 180 posts
Author of 14 books about fighters, surgeons,
trial lawyers, South Africa and real life. https://www.donaldmcrae.com/

Interviewer for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/profile/donaldmcrae

https://www.donaldmcrae.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
donmcrae.bsky.social
Of course I am biased...but I think this is very good
November 8, 2025 at 10:43 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I owe so much to @amandakelley.bsky.social for her incredible painting of Tyson Fury & to Craig Fraser & his design team for the cover of The Last Bell. There is a public vote for sports book cover of the year. If you have a minute, please vote for Amanda & Craig
news.williamhill.com/judge-a-book...
Judge A Book By Its Cover
One vote per person, 18+ please gamble responsibly
news.williamhill.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:58 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I really enjoyed talking to Joe Cole about his identity, fame, money, being a prodigy, Max Dowman, Mikel Arteta, his own surprise dream to become England manager, changes in football, his excellent book with Sam Wallace, Sunday League football and gardening.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Joe Cole: ‘Anything which generates the money you get in football means the parasites come’
Former Chelsea and England maverick tells Donald McRae about being portrayed as spoilt at 16, Max Dowman’s future, his admiration for Mikel Arteta, and a big dream of managing England
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It was a treat to interview Mark Wood about the Ashes - from intense games in the garden with his dad being Australia and little Woody being England to the real thing starting this month. We also spoke about his past experiences in Australia and injuries

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/n...
Mark Wood: ‘We’re going to the Ashes with an Australia blueprint to put their batters under pressure’
The fast bowler tells Donald McRae that England have confidence and belief as he prepares for what could be his final series against the old foe
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:14 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I liked working on such an uplifting feature on Grenfell Athletic and how, after the fire which took the lives of 72 people, Rupert Taylor formed a football club to help Paul Menacer, Joseph John and other survivors. They found a way out of grief and loss...

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘They saved my life’: Grenfell Athletic create hopeful future despite pain of loss in tower fire
A new documentary shows community unity helping a football club rise against a backdrop of a tragedy-hit building that is only now coming down
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:34 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I interviewed Mary Earps in Paris. It was raw and revealing: bullied as a girl, overcoming drink and eating problems, taking on Nike, winning the Euros, saving a World Cup final penalty, Hannah Hampton, Sarina Wiegman, coming out and finding peace in Paris

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mary Earps: ‘I don’t look back with bad blood. It worked out well for everybody’
The former England goalkeeper tells Donald McRae the full story behind her international retirement, her problems with eating and alcohol, and why she’d struggle on The Traitors
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:08 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
Mary Earps extract: ‘I felt sick and anxious. Then came the words I’d waited 12 months to hear’ www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mary Earps extract: ‘I felt sick and anxious. Then came the words I’d waited 12 months to hear’
In an exclusive extract from her autobiography, the goalkeeper reveals the painful road to her shock England exit
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:29 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I interviewed Mary Earps in Paris this week. She gave me a brilliant interview, published online and in The Guardian tomorrow. The attached story about her, Hannah Hampton and Sarina Wiegman is only one part of tomorrow's interview. Book serialised in Guardian

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Mary Earps says she told Wiegman she was rewarding Hampton’s ‘bad behaviour’
Mary Earps says she protested to the Lionesses head coach, Sarina Wiegman, that ‘bad behaviour is being rewarded’ when rival goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was restored to the England side
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 9:25 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It means a lot to be on the shortlist of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, alongside some very good writers.
October 31, 2025 at 5:44 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
Thanks Steven Finn for being so honest, open and impressive as he discussed his highs and lows in cricket, facing depression, finding the resilience to come back, England's chances of winning the Ashes this time and his dream of becoming the voice of TMS

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
Steven Finn: ‘Saying I was not selectable was clumsy language and it damaged me’
In his candid new book, the former England fast bowler talks about the lasting mental turmoil that ended his 2013-14 Ashes tour
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:12 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I wasn't at the fight last night but the extraordinary Fabio Wardley show rolls on. Trailing on the scorecards, again, he stopped Joseph Parker to complete another stunning comeback victory. Our interview ran earlier this week and he shared his story in detail

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
‘My Netflix title would be white collar to world champion’: Fabio Wardley on his boxing journey | Donald McRae
Former Ipswich academy footballer Fabio Wardley fights Joseph Parker on Saturday and he tells Donald McRae he hopes victory will secure a title shot at Oleksandr Usyk, with whom he once sparred in Ukr...
www.theguardian.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:53 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It was good to interview Kenny Dalglish and Asif Kapadia about their moving new film, doing the right thing after the devastation of Hillsborough, their confusion about xG, why there is no mini-crisis at Liverpool and how King Kenny produced miracles...

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘It’s what’s in your heart that counts’: Kenny Dalglish on his love for Liverpool and the long shadow of Hillsborough
Donald McRae talks to Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish and Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia, who has made a film about the Scot’s remarkable career in football
www.theguardian.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:11 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
A little preview of Parker and Wardley - ready for their ‘all or nothing’ battle with a likely world title crack at Usyk on the line

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
Parker and Wardley ready for ‘all or nothing’ rumble with shot at Usyk on the line
Heavyweight clash promises great intrigue as the experienced Parker aims to keep up a hot streak of six wins against the British former white-collar boxer
www.theguardian.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:18 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I enjoyed interviewing Fabio Wardley. We covered a lot - from white collar boxing to the brink of a world title fight to the dangers of boxing, sparring Usyk in Ukraine, the threat of Joseph Parker and losing a little bit of his soul against Frazer Clarke...

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
‘My Netflix title would be white collar to world champion’: Fabio Wardley on his boxing journey | Donald McRae
Former Ipswich academy footballer Fabio Wardley fights Joseph Parker on Saturday and tells Donald McRae he hope victory will earn him a world title shot at Oleksandr Usyk, who he once went to Ukraine ...
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
Ed Caesar's intricately detailed and exhaustive exploration of Daniel Kinahan's world is a searing piece of investigative reporting. Boxing, of course, features heavily.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Cocaine Kingpin Living Large in Dubai
Daniel Kinahan, an Irish drug dealer, commands a billion-dollar empire from the U.A.E. Why isn’t he in prison?
www.newyorker.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Don McRae
sachinnakrani.bsky.social
A typically great @donmcrae.bsky.social interview with champion jockey Oisin Murphy in today’s Guardian, with what is, without doubt, the best/coolest-photograph-alongside-an-interview I’ve seen in my 18 years here. Was a joy in my role as print editor yesterday helping put this together.
October 17, 2025 at 8:43 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It was special to talk to Oisin Murphy as he spoke in gripping detail about the demons he faces as champion jockey. So much raw honesty about his alcoholism, the shock of turning 30, winning a fifth jockey's title and why he still loves racing and Sylvia Plath

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
Oisin Murphy: ‘I found escapism but also an awful lot of trouble in the bottle’
The champion jockey tells Donald McRae about his pursuit of sobriety, his April car crash, a voracious need to win – and the poetry of Sylvia Plath
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:54 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It's always interesting to interview Geraint Thomas and, this time, we spoke about suffering, winning, the ones that got away, being normal, longevity, doping stories, retirement, finding a new way by working with riders in his upcoming job and his last ever race

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...
‘I’m the total opposite to Cav and Brad’: Geraint Thomas on how a normal bloke won the Tour de France
The two-time Olympic gold medallist tells Donald McRae about the grit and sacrifice needed to succeed for two decades in elite cycling
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
I appreciated Jos Buttler talking so openly about the passing years, as a 35-year-old, the death of his father, helping England pass 300 in a T20 world first, the pain of captaincy, shedding that burden, new ambitions and why his bat still says 'fuck it'...

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
Jos Buttler: ‘A big burden has been lifted – I wasn’t the same leader after the 2023 World Cup’
The England white-ball veteran tells Donald McRae about his post-captaincy career, his Ashes struggles and the recent death of his father
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:36 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
England won the women's rugby World Cup yesterday. I've interviewed a few of their squad and they are all impressive. But this Meg Jones interview, about her past trauma, offers some insight into how special she is in overcoming the death of her parents

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/m...
‘I know how important it is to tell people you love them’: England’s Meg Jones on family tragedy, hope and rugby
As England look to the Six Nations in a World Cup year, Meg Jones tells Donald McRae about how she juggles grief and guilt after losing her father to cancer and mother to alcoholism
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:46 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It means a lot to be on this list with some very good books. Thanks to the @BookiePrize for their constant support of sports books....it helps so many writers.
September 25, 2025 at 10:59 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
It was fascinating talking to Ben Youngs as he explained the guilt that meant he was always looked down in shame when being praised as English rugby's most capped player. He was just as honest addressing the coaching limitations of Borthwick, Lancaster and Gatland
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
‘I didn’t get empathy from Borthwick’: Ben Youngs on family trauma and why he rates Eddie Jones
The former scrum-half tells Donald McRae why family illnesses made him feel guilty about being England’s most-capped player
www.theguardian.com
September 25, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Reposted by Don McRae
london.gov.uk
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again.

Ignore the haters, London is the 🐐
Graphic with the headline “London is the greatest city in the world” set against a bright view of the River Thames with the Shard, Tower Bridge and the city skyline. The text celebrates what makes London special: regularly voted the number one city in the world, incredible diversity with over 300 languages spoken, world-class transport, world leader in finance tech and life sciences, best museums and galleries many free to visit, world-leading nightlife, food sport and music for every taste, host to the world’s best sporting events, home to seven Premier League clubs, globally-ranked universities, a city where you can be yourself and love who you love, and a place for everyone.
September 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
donmcrae.bsky.social
Thanks Martin O'Neill for being so honest and interesting as he spoke about being sacked from his final job at Forest, Marinakis, Nuno, being interviewed for England, the "nonsense" of expected goals and sporting directors and why he still loves football...

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
‘Expected goals is a clueless development’: Martin O’Neill on the changing world of management
Martin O’Neill tells Donald McRae about how he was sacked by Forest, the role of data in football and not getting the England job
www.theguardian.com
September 23, 2025 at 7:34 AM
donmcrae.bsky.social
Only the memories of Mike Tyson at his most destructive in sparring can rival the vivid images I carry of the young Ricky Hatton training in an old hat factory. He was utterly lost in boxing. It all felt so pure. Ricky was unforgettable then – and remains so now

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...
Unforgettable Ricky Hatton turned boxing into a spectacle for his vast army of fans
The ‘Hitman’ was extraordinary in his fleeting prime with his career bringing adoration and the demons of fame
www.theguardian.com
September 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM