SYDNEY - If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery then England clearly think highly of the All Black backline's figure hugging rugby jerseys.
The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) introduced the new jerseys this season in a bid to help slip defenders and their English counterparts have been
swift to replicate the initiative.
Designers of the new Nike shirts believe that by dispensing with the normal baggy kit, opponents will have less to grab hold of when they attempt to bring the England players to ground.
The shirts will also be collarless and sealed around the neck, cutting down on another grab point, and will feature a new textile, known as "stretch-woven ripstop", which has been designed to slip through the hands of would-be tacklers.
They are complemented by tight-fitting shorts made mainly from the same fabric. The kit, the latest innovation to be embraced by England's scientifically-minded coach, Clive Woodward, has been developed over the last two years by a design team from Nike as part of their 10-year kit deal with the Rugby Football Union.
The Planet Rugby website said prototypes of the shirts were first approved by Woodward, as well as No 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, wing Dan Luger and flanker Richard Hill, before undergoing thorough testing by the rest of the squad.
The result is two basic designs. One with extra binding panels for the tight five and the other for the loose forwards and backs. Both incorporate mesh areas under the arms, along the collarbone and on the lower-back to aid cooling in the high Australian temperatures and are far lighter than the previous cotton version.
A third, even more revolutionary design, was also developed specifically for the backs - similar to the all-in-one garment worn by some male sprinters - to prevent them being grabbed by the shorts as they race for the line.
But the new bodysuit was too radical for the game's rulers, the International Rugby Board, who decreed that it was in breach of Law 4, which stipulates that players shall wear "jerseys, shorts and undergarments, socks and boots".
Nike hope the IRB will amend their rules and allow the garment to be worn in the future, though they concede that it is unlikely to be on view at the World Cup.
- NZPA
