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Kiwi Super Rugby clubs pay homage to 1996 with 2026 uniforms
By Ned Lester
The 2026 Super Rugby season will mark the 30th anniversary of the competition, and the New Zealand clubs have designed their uniforms to honour that 1996 season.
Classic Sportswear took over from Adidas as the official kit providers in 2025 and hasn’t been afraid to shake things up just one year into their partnership.
While 2025 saw the introduction of Super Rugby heritage jerseys, 2026 will see reincarnations of the 1996 jerseys take centre stage as the home jerseys for three clubs, while the Crusaders have kept the heritage jerseys as a special edition uniform to be worn in week one.
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The Blues
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The Blues’ jersey not only celebrates the inaugural Super Rugby season, but also commemorates the club becoming the first-ever champions of the competition.
Honouring that history, the 2026 home jersey is described as a “faithful recreation of the kit worn by the trailblazing 1996 side.”
Thick, white and blue stripes take the jersey in a whole new direction from the recent modern editions, while the away jersey is also a departure from the norm.
The away kit features white and red pinstripes on a blue jersey, with white strips coming down the shoulder and sleeve, accented by red stripes.
The Chiefs
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The Chiefs haven’t strayed far from their 2025 design, sticking with white and black colour schemes while embracing Maori patterns and motifs.
Designed by Dave Burke, who has created the club’s kit since 2014, the uniforms are also the product of contributions from Chiefs Cultural Advisor Ora Kihi and former Head Coach Clayton McMillan.
“Each jersey carries whakapapa, a woven narrative of pride, identity, and power,” the club said, explaining the design. “The designs speak to key values at the heart of the Chiefs Rugby Club, including kotahitanga (unity and collective strength), kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection), poutokomanawa (the heart that connects earth and sky), turangawaewae (a place to stand) and whanaungatanga (family and belonging).
The Hurricanes
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Another club going back to its roots with the 2026 kit, the Hurricanes have dedicated their new home and away uniforms to heritage designs.
The Hurricanes hosted Super Rugby’s first-ever fixture in Palmerston North, with Alama Ieremia claiming the competition’s first try in the jersey that has now been recreated for 2026.
The home kit features a large yellow panel on the bottom half of the jersey, with black stripes on the top half, and the away kit is simply an inverse of the colour scheme.
The Crusaders
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While the Crusaders haven’t opted for a heritage jersey as their main kit in 2026, they have introduced a heritage jersey to honour the 2026 season.
The home kit features a gradient design that blends red into black, with fine, red vertical lines representing the region’s rivers that fade into the red.
The away kit features the same black base as the home kit, but with the vertical lines fading more briefly into a black lower panel rather than red.
The heritage jersey is a clear recreation of the 1996 uniforms, with a large white panel at the bottom and an upper panel split between black and red blocks.
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The Highlanders
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The Highlanders have committed to a full retro look in 2026, honouring the 1996 kit with a one-off anniversary uniform.
The traditional blue with yellow accents and a strong red stripe across the chest brings back the original flavour of the Dunedin-based outfit, with the design intended to celebrate all players who have represented the club over the past 30 years.
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