Pass the passport! Geographies of the Rugby World Cup 2011

The Rugby World Cup, held in New Zealand in 2011, was a showcase for a rapidly globalising sport involving competition between twenty national teams, comprising over 600 players. This paper analyses the geography of the players’ team affiliations and reveals patterns of labour mobility that disrupt and render complex concepts and definitions of ‘national’ identity. We see that the dominance of professional rugby, particularly by European clubs, is concentrating player resources and revenue generation in ways that suggest an evolving core–periphery relationship. We suggest that the players themselves exercise agency by finding, manipulating and exploiting cracks and opportunities in the complex regulatory framework of the sport. We build a case for a research agenda that maps out these geographies of rugby and traces their implications for understandings of identity and the political economy of globalising sport.     

Fiji,rugby and the geopolitics of soft power. Shaping national and international identity

In this century, sport has steadily become a more visible and marketable part of everyday life and of global political significance. States have consequently used sport as a means of soft power in order to develop a positive international presence and, usually to a lesser extent, affirm national identity. Sport diplomacy is usually associated with mega‐events and large states, but Fiji has used its prowess in rugby, and its Sevens victory in the 2016 Olympic Games, to promote itself globally, strengthen its national image and support government claims to legitimacy. The government emphasised Fijian values to construct a banal nationalism, in the face of ethnic divisions, and external concerns over repression of civil society. At least ephemerally, Fiji acquired new international recognition, and the government gained national legitimacy, indicating the expanding role of sport in geopolitics.     

Sporting narratives and globalization: Making links between the All Black tours of 1905 and 2005

Abstract:  In this paper, we use commodity chain ideas to compare the All Blacks rugby tour of Great Britain and Ireland in 2005 with the formative 1905 tour, and to relate their cultural economy to their political economy. We argue that 'globalization' has become imagined and institutionalized in new ways that more thoroughly exploit rugby's production values. We highlight the value-adding potential of a 100-year-old tension between a colonial/imperial and a national identity. Our point is that fresh insights can be drawn from bringing cultural economy sensitivities to political economy approaches and concerns with identity and consumption to those of value and production.     

A photogrammetric application in virtual sport training

The paper discusses an application of close range photogrammetry for the development of a virtual training system for rugby football, and the use of the technique for the evaluation of rugby players' performance. NuView, a stereo-imaging device, and a digital high-definition video (HDV) camera were used to capture stereoscopic video footage of players during field training. The left view and the right view were colour-tinted cyan and red, respectively. The tinted stereo (anaglyph) views were projected onto a white screen, and players were instructed to practise ball-throwing at the screen. A custom-built laser device (TAM) measured the accuracy of the virtual throws. In addition, a photogrammetric system was used to track the movement of body segments, for example, the angle of shoulder orientation and the trunk flexion of the thrower. The measurements determined the parameters needed for an accurate throw and these parameters would be used in the training of new players. The study shows statistically significant differences in the values of these parameters between experienced and inexperienced players.