Springboks and All Blacks give World Rugby's fashion advice the boot

Scott Robertson's charges will don their famous black jersey, while Jesse Kriel will lead out the visitors in the iconic Green and Gold strip, as New Zealand Rugby and South African Rugby reject the governing body's plea for more contrasting kits.

For the last 104 years of the rivalry, neither team has worn an alternative from their traditional colours in this fixture, but a World Rugby policy introduced from the beginning of 2025 threatens that tradition.

World Rugby adopted a policy that Test teams will have to wear 'light' or 'dark' kits from 2025 to make it easier for spectators who are colour blind. Colour blindness reportedly affects approximately 300 million people worldwide, including former World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont - with red/green types of colour blindness alone affecting eight per cent of males (0.5 per cent of women).

In an effort to make viewing the game easier for fans, World Rugby implement the policy in all World Rugby-run competitions, but it remains guidance for all other non-World Rugby competitions.

New Zealand's black and South Africa's dark green are not considered enough of a contrast, which led to the Junior Boks donning a white jersey in the World Rugby U20 Championship earlier this year.

During the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the policy was still a guideline, but the likes of Portugal, Wales, Georgia, Ireland, Tonga and South Africa wore alternate kits and were praised for doing so, but in the final, the Springboks and All Blacks continued with their first-choice jerseys.

The Rugby Championship is a SANZAAR-run competition, meaning that they are free to do as they please and unlike the Six Nations, they will not be making the change just yet.

READ MORE: Bok star Lukhanyo Am returns for Sharks Invitational against Saracens