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Super Rugby Aotearoa sides unveil new away jerseys following kit clash chaos last season

By Online Editors
(Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The chances of any kit clashes in this year’s edition of Super Rugby, as was the case last year, have been eliminated following the unveiling of a new set of away jerseys for the New Zealand franchises on Wednesday.

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The Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders have all released new away jerseys for the upcoming campaign following a 2020 season that saw multiple kit clashes.

When the Highlanders played the Bulls in Pretoria in the final game of the pre-COVID-19 version of Super Rugby, the hosts had to change into their white-and-yellow away kit at halftime as the visitors’ away jersey looked too similar to their home strip.

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The Hurricanes faced a similar predicament when they played the Stormers in Cape Town last February, with many finding it difficult to distinguish the two teams apart as the away side wore their grey/blue strip.

The kit clash concerns continued in Super Rugby Aotearoa when the Blues and Highlanders squared off at Eden Park in Auckland.

As the Highlanders’ home jersey was blue and their away kit was blue/green, the Blues were forced to wear their white away jersey while playing in front of their home crowd.

Blues wing Caleb Clarke busts through the tackle attempts of Highlanders pair Scott Gregory (left) and Sio Tomkinson at Eden Park last year. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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The jersey debacle has seemingly come to an end, though, as the new away jerseys released for the 2021 season are predominantly white.

Four of the teams – the Blues, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders – will have different coloured sleeve and collar trims on their white jerseys, while the Chiefs will don a grey away jersey.

The Blues away jersey looks very similar to its 2020 predecessor as it maintains its predominantly white look with blue patterns, although it appears the shade of blue on the collar, sleeves and stripes on each shoulder is slightly darker than that of last year’s jersey.

According to kit supplier Adidas, the Blues jersey is “inspired by Tamaki Makaurau [Auckland]”, which is reflected in its incorporation of “a fluid look” that “draws inspiration from the reflection of the Harbour Bridge”.

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Using the same template for the Crusaders away jersey, except with a red trim on the collar and sleeves and three black stripes on each shoulder, Adidas said “the jagged edge pattern” is inspired from the Southern Alps.

“From these mountains, flow ancient glaciers, which inspire the jerseys pattern, to reflect both their legacy and unstoppable momentum,” Adidas said on its website.

Similarly, the Highlanders’ white away jersey is accompanied with a dark green trim and black shoulder stripes, with Adidas designers looking “to the earth surrounding them to inform its aesthetic, using earth as an organic element”.

The kit manufacturer said the “abstract pattern” evident on the jersey represents the rural and city life within the Highlanders region, while also incorporating tartan to symbolise Dunedin’s Scottish heritage.

Josh Ioane models the new Highlanders away jersey. (Photo / adidas.com)

Adidas said it had updated the Hurricanes’ away jersey from last year, which was “created by mapping out some of the 390 wind turbines in the Wellington area”.

The 2021 jersey’s “sweeping fade affect pattern on a steely grey base” is “combined with the look of wind hitting an object” to create “a unique graphic”, all of which is complemented with a yellow trim and black stripes on each shoulder.

 

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A post shared by Hurricanes (@hurricanesrugby)

The Chiefs, meanwhile, took their grey-coloured inspiration from “Kohatu [stone] connecting it with the flowing pattern of Wairerenga [running waters] washing and rippling over the top”.

Made in conjunction with members of the Maori community, the Chiefs away jersey features a grey trim and white shoulder stripes.

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J
Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

40 Go to comments
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