Whose All Blacks?

Abstract

From about the 1880s, an imagined sense of New Zealand-ness, mass communication, and the game of rugby took shape together. This process was primarily signified by the name, image, and exploits of the All Blacks. This article argues that global media and corporate sponsorship threatens the nationally constituted heritage of All Black rugby. But, the argument in question is not a nostalgic defence of some ‘golden age’. At given points in history, the All Black heritage was ideologically constructed and subjected to conflicting interpretations. The All Blacks have always been the template for a contested national imaginary. Now, however, the All Blacks are also the expression of a global corporate culture. In this context, the article explains how an old question takes on a new significance - to whom do the All Blacks belong?

Press narratives of nation during the 2005 Lions tour of Aotearoa-New Zealand

“…As Wayne Hope argues, the imagined sense of New Zealand-ness, mass communication and the game of rugby must be conceptualized 'as a triangulated field of social forces'. 27 Media rebuttal of ongoing challenges to the privileged status of the game have been significant in the consolidation of rugby union as the national sport. Criticism of links with racially exclusive South African rugby, for example, were met by journalistic promotion of rugby as an exemplar of racial tolerance.…”

The Mäori All Blacks and the Decentering of the White Subject: Hyperrace, Sport, and the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

“…Although Jameson marks the 1940s as the shift from the "stage of imperialism" to multinational capitalism, for the purposes of this article, the NZRU's shift from imperialistic to multinational administration of the Mäori All Blacks occurred during the mid-1990s. During this time the NZRU underwent a dramatic transformation from an amateur sporting body with ties to national corporations (including Steinlager and Canterbury Ltd.) and the State broadcaster (Television New Zealand), to a corporate-modeled sporting organization with affiliations to major global corporations (including sponsors Adidas, Iveco, and MasterCard) and media conglomerate News Corporation (Hope, 2002). These profound alterations in the structure and organization of rugby in New Zealand mimic Jameson's understandings of historical economic transformation in which a traditional administration driven by an imperial impetus to protect the interests of the local is replaced by an organization focused on profit maximization and the commodification of local culture.…”

“…The southern hemisphere rugby season is currently defined by two major international fixtures: the Super 14 (a relatively recent professional rugby competition between provincial teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa), which begins in February and ends in May, and the Tri-Nations international tournament played between national teams from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, which typically begins in June and ends in July. Since the creation of this seasonal format in 1996 (see Hope, 2002), the Mäori All Blacks have typically been selected alongside the All Black and the Junior All Black (formerly known as New Zealand A) squads following the conclusion of the Super 14. The coordinated selection enables the NZRU to keep those players who are next in line for All Black honors match-fit and under the scrutiny of All Black selectors.…”

The Media Sports Cultural Complex

“…In a telling portent, he advocates for a commercial model to be applied to rugby at every turn, including centralized control of commercial gain to avoid "conflict," clarity of expectations on players' commercial responsibilities, and the need to appeal to the demands and desires of sponsors for market expansion of their products (Thomas, 1993). Driven by the marketing imperatives and neoliberal philosophies of these businessmen, the commodification of the game and players who have emerged as junior brand managers have become inseparable from the broader national interests of "the game" (Hope, 2002). Such an approach, however, was not uncontested.…”