Back to Black – The Kiwi public have their say on Adidas’ latest incarnation of the All Blacks alternate kit.
Adidas have just revealed the alternate kit which the All Blacks will wear when they sign off on their November tour when they face ‘Les Bleus’ at the Stade de France on Saturday.
As the column inches in this part of the world have been filled with reaction to a gruelling test match between Ireland and New Zealand, the main topic of conversation almost 12,000 miles away is that of the All Blacks’s ‘controversial’ new alternate kit.
The jersey, which you can see below, contains the colour white which is ever present in the alternate kits worn by the Kiwis. However in this instance, the colour black is kept in the chest and shoulders, in addition to having black shorts and black socks.
Ironically, two of the players promoting the kit in the image above, Sam Cane and Malakai Fekitoa, are unlikely to be debuting the kit on Saturday. They have been cited for alleged dangerous tackles during their game with Ireland at the weekend which will likely rule them out of contention.
An adidas rugby spokesperson declared it was “a striking new design inspired by the team’s creativity and their dynamic style of play.”
However this enthusiasm from adidas is not shared by the New Zealand public.
That new @AllBlacks alternate jersey.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.#NothingWrongWithWhite
— Scott (@MadMaclegend) November 20, 2016
I quite like the new @AllBlacks alternate jersey pic.twitter.com/mwzkyoKAq0
— Radovanovich (@ScottRado) November 20, 2016
It looks silver but it's white, not a fan of this #AllBlacks alternate jersey that will be worn this coming weekend https://t.co/yoZYefOY8s pic.twitter.com/Xfn1cRTycF
— Paul from New Zealand Sport Radio (@DrivingMaul) November 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/Otepoti_NZ/status/800447336618934273
It’s not just the casual rugby fan who has weighed in with their opinion, however. New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP, Winston Peters, has taken particular offensive to the sponsors motivation behind the jersey.
“Clearly it’s a sponsor pulling the strings for a new design in which their name dominates – on the new jersey the silver fern and the All Blacks name appear as an afterthought with AIG taking centre place in giant lettering.”
When you have just reminded the rugby community that you are the No. 1 side in the world, I guess you have to find something to complain about.
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