South Africa have been in discussions with World Rugby, after the Governing body announced that opposing Test match teams will have to wear ‘light or dark’ kits from 2025. The decision was made in a move to benefit rugby fans who suffer from colour-blindness, and make the distinctive kits easier to tell apart.
This means that any future match played between the All Blacks and the Springboks will feature only one of the iconic kits, as New Zealand’s black and South Africa’s dark green kits are both dark. A report in the Daily Maverick presents SA Rugby Interim CEO Rian Oberholzer stating the following in an email to the newspaper;
“While SA Rugby supports World Rugby’s ambition to make rugby as inclusive as possible, we have serious reservations about the potential impacts the application of the colour-blindness regulations may have, and believe they need further interrogation.
“For instance, it would mean that the Springboks and All Blacks would never meet again with both in their primary colours at any World Rugby event.
“The guidelines say that: ‘If only one person watching on the sidelines of the school field is having trouble following some elements of the game due to an avoidable kit clash, then rugby is letting them down.’
“But we believe that some or all of the 11 out of 12 males and 199 out of 200 women who are not colour-blind (on the statistical base presented) may also feel let down if the time-honoured traditions of the game are lost, setting aside the potential damage to the equity established in those colours and brands over centuries.”