England’s plan to wear all black at the home of the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup was branded “snide”, “tacky” and “crazy” yesterday as New Zealanders voiced their outrage.
Prime Minister John Key called England “a bunch of wannabes” for attempting to mimic the iconic New Zealand outfit, while former All Blacks flanker Michael Jones labelled England’s kit switch “psychological warfare”.
As websites swelled with reaction, and a Facebook group called “Get Our Gear Off” was launched, one commenter calling himself Wynkan said: “Sad thing is, England can wear a superman outfit, but they still won’t win.”
England traditionally play in white but are switching to a black away kit in time for their first World Cup match in New Zealand against Argentina on September 10.
An English Rugby Football Union (RFU) spokesman said the shirt complied with World Cup and International Rugby Board regulations.
England was “fully aware of the significance of a black shirt to New Zealand’s players and population as a whole – we have fully consulted with the NZRU, who confirmed they had no issues,” the spokesman said.
However, New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said England told them of the change “as a courtesy”.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw took a diplomatic approach, saying he was not bothered by England copying the All Blacks jersey, which has a 127-year history.
“If it comes down to what colour you wear determines how you play then we’ve got trouble,” he said.
However, former All Black captain Taine Randell called the cheeky marketing ploy “tacky” and asked: “Are they just not proud of the colours they wear? Their history that they’ve had over the last 100-odd years?”
Earle Kirton, a former All Blacks player and coach, told Fairfax Media there was “an underlying snideness” about the England move, while veteran Rugby Union commentator Keith Quinn said the move diminished England’s red and white history.
“It’s crazy,” said Quinn.
“Of all the colours in the rainbow, why would they choose the colour of the host nation? They are thumbing their noses at a New Zealand tradition.”
On the Facebook page, Massey Tuhaki described England’s switch to black as “ignorant and offensive” while Gerard Murphy said: “If the Poms promise to wear white, we promise to give them their dumb flag back!”