KEY POINTS:
AIX EN PROVENCE - The All Blacks were asked to change from the grey and silver strip into their traditional black strip at half time during yesterday's match with Scotland it was revealed today.
IRB officials called for the change into the team's usual black strip but those
jersies had not been taken with them from their French base.
New Zealand's alternate grey and silver strip was uncannily similar to Scotland's stylised outfit, causing confusion for players and spectators.
The All Blacks have called on Rugby World Cup organisers to ensure there is no repeat of the matching jersey farce.
International Rugby Board (IRB) communications manager Greg Thomas admitted the jersies were confusing and said a similar colour clash would not happen again.
"The match commissioner looked at the jersies before the match and thought they were quite different," Thomas told Radiosport.
However, soon after the game got underway IRB officials realised the patchwork on the jersies made them difficult to differentiate the teams, particularly from side on.
"It was quite messy, we probably could have looked at it as bit closer," Thomas said.
All Blacks manager Darren Shand also hoped a problem over having to train with replica balls would be quickly resolved.
Both issues impacted on the test at Murrayfield, won 40-0 by the All Blacks.
The change in ball may have had a bearing on the disappointing handling skills of the New Zealanders, along with a poor goalkicking return for first five-eighth Daniel Carter.
Shand said Welsh match commissioner Steve Griffiths had agreed with the All Blacks on both counts and would report as such to Cup officials.
New Zealand had committed to wearing their alternate strip well before the tournament and were surprised on game day to see its similarity to Scotland's jersey, which was far removed from their traditional all-navy top. It featured ample grey, of a similar hue to the All Blacks.
"When we met yesterday, they (Scotland) presented a couple of pictures of what they were going to wear and it certainly looked like there was a lot more navy in it than what they actually wore," Shand said.
He offered no comment to a suggestion that Scotland had entered psychological warfare by altering their jerseys.
"Teams committed jerseys quite a long time ago and it's really up to tournament organisers to determine what sides wear," Shand said.
"It was difficult for the players, difficult for the spectators. Not much could be done at the 11th hour because there's been a process.
"We've just got to be confident that tournament organisers realise there's a problem. A number of the senior officials were there yesterday and were pretty concerned about it."
The issue could emerge again if, as seems likely, the All Blacks face France in the quarterfinals.
The current French jersey is a very deep blue and it seems one team will have to change their strip.
If that were the case, it would be decided by a coin toss.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks have been frustrated at being provided with some balls at training which are quite different to those used in Cup matches.
Carter last night spoke of the difficulties of playing with a different ball to that used at training although he didn't want to use it as an excuse for his four-from-nine return against the Scots.
Shand said a batch of balls were provided for the team pre-tournament, many of which were replicas. They were made of a harder material than match balls and responded to kicking in a significantly different way.
"It's important you train with what you play with," Shand said.
"We just want consistency really.
"The match commissioner could clearly see the difference between the two balls so he's alerted the organisers that they need to resolve that issue as well."
Shand said other teams had been affected by the same problem.
- NZPA
