New Zealand Geographer (2007) 63, 202– 215 10.1111/j.1745-7939.2007.00109.x © 2007 The Authors Journal compilation © 2007 The New Zealand Geographical Society Inc. Published by Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Blackwell Publishing Asia Original Articles Sporting narratives and globalization Original Article Sporting narratives and globalization: Making links between the All Black tours of 1905 and 2005 Nicolas Lewis and Gordon Winder School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 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. Key words : brand, commodity chain, economic geography, identity, power, rugby. From famed captain Dave Gallaher who led the All Blacks to victory in 1905 and later died on the battlefields of World War I, to the traditional Maori dance, the haka, the All Blacks have shrewdly fashioned their history, tradition and verve into a very powerful brand. (Rusch 2001). Robin Rusch, editor of online magazine Brandchannel.com, suggests that, sponsored by global giants, winning over three-quarters of their games and widely feared for over a century, the All Blacks are one of the ‘most distinctive international brands in sport’. In 2005, the landmark 1905 All Black tour of Great Britain and Ireland was commemorated by a centenary tour and a rash of books (Howitt & Haworth 2005; McCrystal 2005; Ryan 2005a; Stead 2005; Tobin 2005). At first glance, the contrast between the two tours appears dramatic. The 2005 version was dom- inated by increased revenue flows, new and different institutions, and new actors working to extract symbolic and economic values from the tour. However, the defining cultural products of the 2005 Tour already featured in 1905, when the first tour of a team labelled the ‘All Blacks’ (now known as ‘The Originals’), was in many ways just as commercialized. As economic geography continues to debate how to accommodate a ‘cultural turn’ (Peck 2004; Amin & Thrift 2005; Harvey 2006), cultural products like sport are attracting the attention they have too often lacked (with of course notable exceptions – see Bale 2003). This paper directs attention to rugby by comparing the rugby commodity chains through which the 1905 and 2005 tours were produced. The two tours created multiple economic and cultural values, from entertainment to identity-forming moments of high drama, lasting memories and legendary figures, economic multiplier effects and opportunities to attach value to other products. In 2005, presentations of the All Blacks in advertising campaigns as products (shrink)-wrapped in body-hugging black, symbols Note about the authors: Nick Lewis is a lecturer in political and economic geography at The University of Auckland. He has met All Blacks in shopping malls but has been no closer to a rugby field than Row M since he left school. Gordon Winder is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Auckland and, despite spending his first 20 years in Auckland, played rugby only once. E-mail: n.lewis@auckland.ac.nz