REPRESENTATIONS OF SCOTTISH IDENTITY AT THE RUGBY WORLD CUP 2019

Abstract

This project looks at representations of Scottish national identity expressed through the medium of sport, focusing on the Rugby World Cup of 2019. Through the use of newspaper articles from certain Scottish newspapers, this project was able to analyse and draw conclusions based on the representations of Scottish identity displayed during this tournament. Through utilising Goffman’s (1974) work on framing, this project was able to identify the ways in which this tournament allowed the media to construct a different kind of reality to the one that actually exists. Using an interpretative approach guided by Grounded Theory (Strauss, 1967), several key themes began to emerge, representation of national honour, a sense of unity from all backgrounds, social or political, identity capital and framing. Probably the most important finding is that a sport like rugby union, despite playing second fiddle to football in terms of Scotland’s sporting priorities and often associated with a certain group within of society, is just as capable of uniting the Scottish public behind a national cause when pride on the world stage is at stake