Abstract
This article explores the interdependence of interest groups operating within the media sports cultural complex in relation to the national sport of rugby union in New Zealand/Aotearoa. Specifically, we scrutinize the corporate “partnerships” between the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), Adidas, and News Corporation in relation to issues and debates surrounding the globalization of New Zealand's iconic rugby team, the All Blacks. The article draws on extensive interviews with the NZRU's marketing and sponsorship manager and Adidas New Zealand's marketing manager. These interviews provide rare insights into how the strategies of these organizations, and their interrelated (but not interchangeable) commercial objectives, set limits and exert powerful pressures on aspects of the production and consumption of the national sporting mythology in New Zealand.
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