For mana or money? The change to professionalism in rugby

Abstract

This dissertation is going to consider the mana of playing for one's country and the pride of playing for the love of the game and whether or not these amateur ideals have been replaced by players playing solely to get a 'fistful of cash'.

Rugby union was built on amateur ideals in the 1870s and this was especially true for New Zealand. Rugby was played from the very early years of settlement in this country. Rugby seemed to grow as New Zealand grew and it quickly became a symbol of what life was like 'down under'. The game was played purely for the 'love of the game' and the All Blacks, the New Zealand Rugby team quickly became synonymous with winning and playing with pride and determination.

Rugby was about intrinsic motivation, playing for the 'love of the game' with no thought of any extrinsic reward. In New Zealand, the administrators and ex-players have always lived by this amateur status and have seen rugby at that 'heart' of this country because it put us on the world map.

The amateur ideals have been tested throughout the decades as professionalism and the idea of 'pay for play' have always been part of rugby union. At times they have been in the background, but there were always mummurings about getting reimbursed for time away from work and being compensated on overseas tours.

There were four major occasions when the threat of professional became a public issue; Firstly, the 1907 New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Football Team who were the first 'professional' team in rugby. While there were people switching to rugby league it was not until 1977 that professionalism became a burning issue again with World Professional Rugby Football Limited set up by a group of entrepreneurs in New Zealand. They signed some top All Blacks but never got off the ground. 1983 and David Lord's Professional Rugby Championship was the next challenge to amateur rugby, but failed because it could not gain television rights. However in 1995, rugby, with the pressure put on it by the World Rugby Corporation, Super League and Australian League as well as by the players, finally had to shed its amateur status or risk losing the game and the player's altogether.

Since this change there have been positive and negative impacts on the game of rugby. The hype of the Super 12 and the southern hemisphere teams taking rugby to a new level have benefited the game. But on the other side burnout and the player drain has caused anxiety in rugby ranks.

I will outline the reaction to professional rugby from many points of view. I have taken into consideration the views of the players, coaches, administrators as well as the media and the general public. This will allow for a thorough examination of the effects of professionalism on the game of rugby in this country and across the world.