Many countries have preferred sports with legions of dedicated fans; for example, ice hockey is associated with Canada and baseball with the United States.
However, in New Zealand rugby is, even in an era of growing professionalism, so much a part of the national psyche that a significant loss by the national team, the All Blacks, can lead to a country-wide case of the blues.
This article provides an indication of what rugby means in Aotearoa. A linked article on Suite 101, Politics and Sport in New Zealand, considers how the health of rugby and the success or failure of the All Blacks could even influence the 2008 New Zealand elections.
Grassroots Rugby and Middle New Zealand
In an essay in the Greg Ryan-edited book Tackling Rugby Myths (Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 2005) Camilla Obel and Terry Austrin describe the significance of rugby and the All Blacks to New Zealand. They cite rugby journalist Marc Hinton, who compares the importance of the sport to that of soccer in Brazil: “here rugby provides the barometer of health”. Former All Black Chris Laidlaw is quoted as describing the “phenomenon” of the All Blacks as “a romance” with an “indefinable mystique”.
One reason for the significance of the sport in the national psyche is the way that it developed historically, imported from the United Kingdom but quickly becoming a grassroots pursuit of small communities. The All Blacks were originally the “touring” team, selected from clubs around the country to travel to play against international sides. National teams from other countries visiting New Zealand would not confine themselves to the big cities; most regions would host an international “test”. Obel and Austrin observe that “the rugby park and the rugby club became key institutions of both the provinces and the society”.
Rugby and New Zealand Nationalism
The All Blacks are a national icon, and, especially since the inauguration of the Rugby World Cup in 1987, their progress and general state of health is a subject of country-wide debate.
Politicians seeking the approval of “middle” New Zealand have long attempted to associate themselves with rugby. In 2005 a civilian driver and members of the police rushing the Prime Minister to Christchurch Airport were charged with dangerous driving. The Prime Minister was trying to get to a rugby match in Wellington. Part of the electoral environment in 2005 , an election won (albeit narrowly) by the incumbent Labour government, was the All Blacks’ triumph over the British Lions in the Lions’ tour of New Zealand (B. de Malmanche in S. Levine and N. Roberts, editors, The Baubles of Office. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2007).
In 2008 national elections will be held in October or November, coinciding with an important All Black tour of Hong Kong and Europe. The timing of the two events provides a fresh opportunity for observing the interplay of politics and sport in New Zealand.
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