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The five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises have unveiled their playing jerseys for the inaugural edition of Super Rugby Pacific in 2022.
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Each of the Kiwi teams have released new home and away kits for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, with each jersey holding meaning and importance to its respective side.
The Blues will sport a darker-toned home jersey as the Auckland-based franchise “pays homage to the great migrations that are an integral part of New Zealand’s history, made possible by the waters that surround the region”.
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According to a statement released by the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman champions, they have done so by creating a feature in the centre of their home jersey that “represents the meeting point of the four tides – as it does at Cape Reinga in the Far North of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland)”, where the low and high tides of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea converge.
The Blues’ away jersey, meanwhile, is symbolic of their championship-winning history from the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the diamonds across the shoulders a nod to their iconic 1997 Super 12 jersey.
Further south in Hamilton, and the Chiefs have maintained a distinctly Maori design heading into the new season with their home jersey called ‘Nga hihi o te ra – The Rays of the Sun’.
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A statement by the franchise said that the jersey had incorporated the theme of the sun and sun rays to accentuate the franchise’s red and yellow colours on its black jersey.
The design of the korus on the top and bottom halves of the jersey portrays the intertwined connection between the provincial unions that make up the Chiefs region, the players, supporters, members, sponsors, clubs and family.
The Chiefs’ away jersey has the sam design on it, but with a different colour scheme, with the jersey’s primary colour being white, while the kowhaiwhai design is lit up with the colouring of a paua shell.
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According to the franchise, the away jersey, named He Piringa Paua’, represents “loyalty and allegiance”.
In the capital, the Hurricanes have released a classic yellow home jersey which the Wellington-based franchise says is representative of the original Hurricanes jersey from the 1996 Super 12 campaign.
“Our jersey features a pattern inspired by our mighty winds, a source of our strength, reflecting both the traditional narrative from our region and our unstoppable momentum,” Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee said in a statement.
“The blue stripes are a throwback to the Hurricanes very first Super Rugby jersey. The blue stripe on the original jersey is iconic, so we are really pleased to see its return with a new modern take.”
The side’s away jersey features the same design but in a black colour. Hurricanes have also released a brand-new training jersey, which is blue and green with Pasifika-inspired designs incorporated on the front of it.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, have taken a fresh approach to their playing jerseys, which features a mountain range design over the top of its traditional black-and-red colour scheme.
According to the Christchurch-based franchise, the six mountain peaks that feature on the jersey are representative of the six provincial unions within the Crusaders region.
The reigning Super Rugby Aotearoa champions also have the same design brandished on their away jersey, which is predominantly white with a black trim.
Down south, the Highlanders have welcomed the return of their maroon away strip for the first time in more than a decade after having replaced it with a bright green strip in 2011.
The away jersey is symbolic of the franchise’s two smallest provincial unions – Southland and North Otago – and features “a modernised tartan pattern” that is also present on the home and training jerseys.
The Dunedin-based franchise has maintained a traditional blue-and-gold colour scheme for their home jersey, although both playing strips will feature a new main sponsor in the form of SBS Bank, with the Speight’s logo relocating to the jersey’s collar.
However, the Speight’s remains the main sponsor for the Highladers’ training jersey, which has a much bolder colour contrast of navy blue and bright green.
