Each of the New Zealand Super XV franchises will be injecting some tradition and history in to their 2013 shirts with the announcement that adidas will not only incorporate the names of all provincial unions which form each franchise into the design, but an image will also be integrated on to the front of each shirt to reflect the ‘tribal’ backgrounds of each team.
The Crusaders’ jersey will feature a design comprising chainmail and the ‘sword of success’ on the front of their shirts, while the collar will bare the names of Buller, West Coast, Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury and Tasman, the unions that contribute to the Christchurch-based side.
The reigning champion Chiefs have opted for a koru symbol designed with the help of local iwi, and will have the names Counties-Manukau, Waikato, Thames Valley, King Country and Bay of Plenty embossed on the collar.
Rangitoto volcano will be represented on the Blues shirt, with the shirt paying homage to Northland, North Harbour, and Auckland. The Highlanders have opted for a slightly different design, with the words ‘Pride of the South’ emblazoned on the collar, and Waitaki, Central Otago, Queenstwon Lakes, Dunedin Clutha, Southland, Gore and Invercargill, the main cities and townships of the Highlanders catchment area, watermarked on the front of the jersey.
The Hurricanes opted for a minimalistic design which retains a simple, yellow and black theme, with Wellington, Taranaki, Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, East Coast, Poverty Bay, Wanganui, Wairarapa Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti earning mentions on the collar.