All Blacks go back to white alternative

BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE

The All Blacks are returning to their traditional white alternate jersey, ditching the silver-grey look they wore in their 2007 World Cup disaster.

The All Blacks are returning to their traditional white alternate jersey, ditching the silver-grey look they wore in their 2007 World Cup disaster.

The new All Blacks playing strips were unveiled in Auckland this morning along with a new Silver Ferns dress as netball rejoined the adidas stable.

The All Blacks alternate jersey is plain white and will be worn with black shorts and black socks.

It will be worn for the first time in November when the All Blacks play France in a test in Marseille.

The French controversially darkened their Nike strip to a very deep blue on the eve of the last World Cup, meaning a clash with the All Blacks' playing strip.

When it came time to decide who would have to wear the alternate jerseys in the tournament, the French struck a psychological blow by retaining their usual strip and forcing the All Blacks to play in the silver-grey strip.

The result was the All Blacks' worst World Cup effort as they crashed out in the quarterfinals for the first time.

The last World Cup also featured the All Blacks wearing their alternative silver-grey strip against Scotland. But it was so close to the new-look Scottish blue-grey outfit that the players were hard to tell apart.

That has been consigned to history now with the returning white jersey including a white collar and New Zealand's national symbol, the silver fern, on the left breast in black.

As well, for the first time ever, both the black and white strips will feature a subtle fern pattern across the front of the jersey fabric, enhancing the New Zealand look and feel of the most famous rugby jersey in the world.

Unlike all of their international opponents the All Blacks jerseys remains sponsor-free apart from the small adidas manufacturer's logo on the right breast.

All Blacks Ali Williams, Joe Rokocoko, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu modelled the new playing strips while Silver Ferns Irene Van Dyk, Casey Williams, Laura Langman and Maria Tutaia showed off the netball dresses.

Mealamu, the All Blacks hooker, feels the return to white is a good move.

"I think it's going traditional again. The jerseys are comfortable with their fitting and the changes are quite subtle."

Mealamu, who was injured out of the World Cup quarterfinal loss, had the agony of watching from the stands in Cardiff as the men in silver capitulated.

"There's one game that stands out for me," he said of that controversial alternate strip.

"So I'm happy to see it go back to white. But we've lost a couple of games in the black jersey as well."

In a statement, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw welcomed the new design for the second kit saying, "The team is really excited about the new white jersey. Although we always love playing in the black All Blacks jersey, it's a rare honour and privilege to play in the second kit. I know the boys are looking forward to having the opportunity to pull one on, and I am sure the fans will be just as excited about seeing us play in it."

The All Blacks, as the home side, will be able to wear their traditional black jerseys in the two tests against France in June. They also play Italy.

Sporting manufacturer adidas are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year and 2009 marks a 10 year association with the All Blacks under their current deal. That has been extended through to 2019.

The 2009 all-white jersey also continues the tradition of famous white All Blacks jerseys of the past, with the All Blacks first donning an all-white jersey in 1930 for the domestic Test series against the touring British Isles team.

The new adidas rugby jerseys will be the lightest ever, weighing just 195 grams, making them 35 percent lighter than the 2005 edition

The black netball dress is a merino-polyester mix and also features a stylised fern through it along with the New World sponsor's logo across the chest. The player positions and markings are in silver.

Silver Fern captain Julie Seymour says the team are thrilled with their new look.

"We're really looking forward to stepping onto the court in September in our new match dress. The technology of the dress is fantastic - the fabric is so comfortable, which is so important for competition play," she said.

What do you think of the new playing strips?

- © Fairfax NZ News