Warriors of the rainbow nation? South African rugby after apartheid

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Periodical article

Title:	Warriors of the rainbow nation? South African rugby after apartheid
Author:	Niehaus, Isak
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Anthropology Southern Africa (ISSN 2332-3264)
Volume:	37
Pages:	68-80
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	rugby Whites Afrikaners masculinity nation building nationalism
Abstract:	In this article the author seeks to account for the special appeal of rugby to white, particularly Afrikaner, men in South Africa, by treating rugby as a social phenomenon. He suggests that at a metaphorical level formulaic elements of the sport resonate with those of modern military and bureaucratic institutions that were so prominent in the history of Afrikaners. However, whilst rugby embodies historical memories, Afrikaner men's participation in the sport is also geared towards the present. With reference to the autobiographies of three Springbok rugby captains, he argues that participation in the sport has become an important arena for dramatizing their contribution to nation building. In the micro-world of rugby, players perceive themselves as warriors who lay their bodies on the line for a new democratic nation. Bibliogr., notes, sum. [Journal abstract]