A vintage jersey every Kiwi Super Rugby team should bring back in 2024
It’s finally happening, ladies and gentlemen. Retro jerseys are set to feature in Super Rugby in 2024 and fans finally get the chance to revisit some classic eras and moments of this competition’s more colourful past.
While the baggy shirts and shorts will be absent, the block colours and graphic prints will be in full swing and the teams are soon to unveil which era they will be celebrating.
With various iterations and eras to choose from, here are some jerseys we hope can get resurrected in 2024.
Blues: 1997
The Auckland club are the one team to have revealed the jersey they will be bringing back, and in a promising sign of what’s to come, they’ve nailed it.
The ’97 jerseys sport the classic blue, red and white colour scheme and graphically embrace the city of Auckland’s “City of Sails” nickname and DNA.
In an age where representing your region through jersey design has reached an overly subtle and minimalist point of evolution, the bold colours and literal references to the character of the city are a breath of fresh air.
Beating the Brumbies 23-7 in the ’97 final gives the jersey even more legendary status. Zinzan Brooke was the captain and a young Carlos Spencer was carving up the field. The checkered shoulder print turned to race stripes when Jonah Lomu or Eroni Clarke found space. Michael Jones and Sean Fitzpatrick are among other legends to have donned the jersey in ’97.
Chiefs: 1999
The checkered ’99 jerseys have a distinct Waikato flavour. More so than the team’s alternative look of this period which featured the swirling yellow, blue and burgundy shoulder panels – although the crisp white collars were a nice touch.
The stripes and pixelated shoulder print provided the classic black, orange and red colour scheme. Without the return of shirts sized seven times too large, fans will be deprived of the image of a sailing, loose jersey behind Damian McKenzie’s flowing mullet in the open field, which is a real crime.
The 90s were tough for the Chiefs but a sixth-place finish in ’99 equalled their best result in the Super 12 competition. And it was, of course, the year of Jonah Lomu.
Hurricanes: 1998
The Hurricanes jerseys were at their windiest in the 90s, embracing the region’s weather with bold colour blocks and unmistakable flare.
‘Canes fans will let their mind run wild with the sight of Ruben Love in Christian Cullen’s famous 15 jersey, while they’ll have to wait until 2025 to catch Ardie Savea in the retro kit.
The eighth-place finish in ’98 was a shame for a team that boasted Cullen’s talent alongside the likes of Tana Umaga. While not the most immediately influential player in the ’98 squad, Kevin “Smiley” Barrett featured at lock and would contribute hugely to the club’s success through some talented offspring.
Crusaders: 1999
The Canterbury team don’t exactly have the most exciting jersey history to dive into, but the classic red and black has had some nice iterations to go along with its fair share of historic moments.
Expect appropriate updates to the design as the club distance themselves from the history of their name.
Andrew Mehrtens led the 1999 Super 12 season in points scored as the Crusaders won their second Super Rugby title.
A southern derby against the Highlanders would be in tall order for any heritage round that features the ’99 kit, especially to commemorate the season’s final.
Highlanders: 1999
And of course, one can only hope to complete the above picture with the inclusion of the Highlanders’ classic 1999 kit.
A record 41,500 fans packed into the “House of Pain” in Dunedin for the final, but southern fans would have to wait until 2015 to taste Super Rugby glory.
Tony Brown was of course key to both finals runs, with the Highlanders as an assistant coach in 2015 after donning the No. 10 jersey in the ’99 final. Brian Lima and Isitolo Maka scored for the Highlanders in the game.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the deportation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
156 Go to commentsGOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
1 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
156 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
1 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
156 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
156 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
156 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
156 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
156 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
156 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
156 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
156 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
156 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
156 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
156 Go to commentsHo hum.
156 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
156 Go to comments