Collective Identity and Contested Allegiance: A Case of Migrant Professional Fijian Rugby Players

Rugby is widely regarded as Fiji’s ‘national’ sport and Fijian athletes are a prominent
global presence in professional rugby today. Despite such prominence of Fijian athletes
in professional rugby and the social, economic and symbolic significance of the sport in
Fiji, there is a near absence of academic research on Fijian rugby migration. As Fiji has
been deeply implicated in the interests and discourses of colonialism, ethnonationalism
and masculinity, the aim of this study is to explore professional rugby
migration and international competitions as a context for collective identification by
focusing on the interview-generated voices of rugby migrants as well as popular media
discourses. In doing so, we aim to provide an insight into the multiple dimensions of
sport labour migration from the point of view of a developing society that supplies sport
labour across the globe. Our analysis will highlight the complex and contested nature of
rugby migration as it is experienced and viewed by emigrant players and the Fiji public
with a specific focus on the tension between core and periphery dimensions which
surfaces at times of international competition such as the Rugby World Cup.