Uncover The Hidden Secret of the Canterbury Logo
What do you see when you look at the Canterbury logo? Until very recently, Hayden Donnell had never noticed the secret hidden in plain sight.
You’ve probably looked at the Canterbury logo thousands of times. Seen the contours of those three Cs adorning legs and chests across the rugby world. They’re as common in shopping malls as on sports fields. The All Blacks once wore them across the front of their jerseys, beside an ad ushering young sports fans into a life of binge drinking.
But have you ever really looked at the Canterbury logo?
Truly seen it?
I’m about to tell you something that may destroy the small world you thought you knew.
Are you sitting down?
Are you ready?
There are three Kiwis inside the Canterbury clothing logo.
“Wow, you’re the Woodward and Bernstein… of dumbasses,” you are probably saying. Maybe you’re yelling something like “Big woop, word loser”, or “Nice scoop, Rugby Pass shit-hack.”
If so, you’re one of the intelligentsia. Many don’t see the Kiwis. They live their lives oblivious to the birds hiding in plain sight.
I’m 31 years old. I only saw them when they were pointed out to me two weeks ago. It was like I’d been living my life alone in the dark, and suddenly a beam of light had pierced the shadows. The heavy veil shrouding what I’d mistaken for reality fell away. I was seeing as if for the first time.
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I’m not alone. Even professional athletes who’ve spent their lives wearing Canterbury are blind to the avine mystery emblazoned on their bodies. New Zealand netball representative Bailey Mes only saw the birds in the last days of her teenage years. “I probably would have been about 19 when my life changed forever,” she said.
I inducted Mes into the Order of Journalists and issued an assignment: questioning her Ferns teammates on whether they’d seen the Canterbury Kiwis. Two never had: sharp shooter Maria Tutaia and ace defender Kayla Cullen. Mes reported that Cullen muttered “Those sly mofos” at the moment of revelation. Two others – Katrina Grant and Hayley Saunders – admitted they had only gained The Sight late in life.
The rugby community was initially reluctant to own up to its bird blindness. Former All Black Josh Kronfeld said he’d known since he was “about 13”. “Someone pointed out to me,” he said. Commentator and colleague Scotty Stevenson scoffed at my search.
Former All Black loose forward Adam Thomson provided the breakthrough. Despite having grown up wearing the Canterbury logo in locations including his torso, legs, and arms, he confessed he had never noticed the elusive birds.
Canterbury general manager Dwayne Barrie admitted this confusion has been going on for eons. He said “at a guess” 50% of people fail to see the Kiwis. Even his own father had been afflicted by the sightlessness. “I’d been working here 10 years when he came up to me and said ‘Have you ever seen the Kiwis in the Canterbury logos?’,” Barrie said. “For a grown man like him – he only noticed when he was 50-odd.”
He sent through pictures from the Canterbury history wall. They revealed illusion had always been at the heart of the Canterbury logo.
The pictures had sealed it: this was all by design. Enigma was enshrined from the logo’s inception. Canterbury had enacted one of the greatest long-cons in clothing history. It had gleefully indulged in a three-decade campaign of trickery; one that played out on the most public of stages. But the pictures also provided an element of certainty. A single fact that we can all unite around. Whether we see the Kiwis or not, we can agree on this: anyone who sees “three rolling New Zealand hills” in the logo is an idiot.
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments