There's no changing the dowdy old Magpie.
With the announcement of a lucrative three-year sponsorship deal with English rugby apparel giants Kooga, came a radical new jersey design which proved a bit too exciting for those at Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (HBRU) headquarters.
The prototype strip was unveiled by Kooga's New Zealand
representative, Guy McPhail, with the famous black and white hoops playing only a bit part in the overall look.
That gear will now be confined to the training paddock as HBRU chief executive Mike Bishop said the old-fashioned look was not up for sale.
"Our public told us we needed to preserve it and we were adamant that we needed to do that anyway," Mr Bishop said.
"Hawke's Bay has got iconic colours and, in our opinion, there would be a lot of provinces that would take our colours if they had the opportunity. So it was very important that we stayed traditional because other unions have tried it in the past and have always reverted to type.
"Well, we're not one of them, we'll be sticking with what we know is tried and true."
All the same, Mr McPhail said the strip would still be discernibly different when the Magpies hit the field against Canterbury in their first Air New Zealand Cup match.
"It will be a slightly different look but still in keeping with the traditions of Hawke's Bay, we're not radically re-designing it or moving away from what people have been accustomed to," Mr McPhail said.
"There is a certain fresh look about it, which we'll be keeping under wraps until the season launch, but people can expect to see something different."
Mr McPhail said Kooga was determined to make a splash in New Zealand and in Hawke's Bay they had identified a union that was really on the move. From an HBRU perspective, Mr Bishop said that kind of endorsement was music to their ears.
"It's flattering and encouraging that a significant brand like Kooga wants to be involved with the Kelt Capital Magpies and it sends a lot of signals to us," he said.
"It shows that sponsors and stakeholders are recognising the changes that are happening here - on and off the paddock.
"I'd prefer not to go in to the dollar details but there is a cash component to the deal, as well as a product component.
"We also get a dollar figure interms of the apparel that we're able to access, initially for the Kelt Capital Magpies, and then that will filter down to our other representative teams from there."
