Rugby Union and Globalization: An Odd-Shaped World (Global Culture and Sport Series)

In 1995 rugby union finally became a professional sport following more than a century as an amateur game. This book offers a critical analysis of the sport in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in contemporary rugby union. This book provides a critical analysis of rugby union in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in the game. Through focusing on key figures and important events it traces the turbulent development of a game steeped in an amateur ethos, yet now operating in a professional sports world. It highlights that rugby can be viewed as a vehicle for engaging, and further understanding, broader societal issues related to the social, cultural, economic and political conditions shaping local and global landscapes. Areas included in the analysis include discussions of the increased migration of rugby players and coaches, the inception of a rugby world cup competition and the future development of the sport. It locates all of these issues within a framework that explores the tensions inherent in the processes of localization and globalization and the battle between tradition and change Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Prologue......Page 11 Introduction......Page 18 1 Where and Why Rugby Matters......Page 28 2 The Rugby World Cup......Page 42 3 Power Shifts: From League to Union......Page 58 4 The Rugby Player as Celebrity......Page 72 5 Player Migration in the Professional Age......Page 88 6 The Migration of Coaches in Rugby Union......Page 109 7 Passports of Convenience......Page 124 8 The Lions Roar: British Identity and the Professional Game......Page 135 9 Flattening the Rugby World......Page 150 References......Page 168 Index......Page 179 Machine generated contents note: Introduction Where and Why Rugby Matters The Rugby World Cup Power Shifts: From League to Union The Rugby Player as Celebrity Player Migration in the Professional Age The Migration of Coaches in Rugby Union Passports of Convenience The Lions Roar Flattening the Rugby World. "In 1995 rugby union finally became a professional sport following more than a century as an amateur game. This_book offers a critical analysis of the sport in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in contemporary rugby union"-- Provided by publisher

In 1995 rugby union finally became a professional sport following more than a century as an amateur game. This book offers a critical analysis of the sport in the professional era and assesses the relationship between the local and the global in contemporary rugby union.