KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks were "not too concerned" if they had to wear the grey alternate strip again during the World Cup, manager Darren Shand said last night.
A day ago, the jersey which provoked an unhappy reaction when used in their penultimate pool C match against Scotland at
Edinburgh on Monday morning, was thought to be a dead duck, not to be sighted again during the tournament.
International Rugby Board officials tried to change the All Blacks into their usual black at halftime, but that kit had been left at the team's French base.
However Shand said if the grey had to be used again, the players had no big issue about it.
"We don't really care," he said. "We just play in what we are asked to play in."
Asked if it would be "sad" for the All Blacks to have to wear something other than the traditional black as they approached the critical knockout stage of the cup, Shand said it was "water off a duck's back" in the players' minds.
"We're not too concerned about it. We want to put on the track what we are all about. At the end of the day we're black all over, inside and out.
"The players are far more focused on doing what's right and performing the best they can."
The choice of colours from the quarter-finals on, if there is the chance of a clash, comes down to a coin toss. As Shand put it "the team that wins the toss will have all the rights".
Hypothetically, the All Blacks could face games against France, Argentina or Ireland in the quarter-finals; most likely Australia in the semifinal and, if they get that far, perhaps South Africa in the final. None of those should necessitate the use of the dreaded grey, with the possible exception of the French dark blue.
Shand said there was no chance of reverting to the old alternate white jersey if a change was required.
Why not?
"Good question. [Sponsors] adidas came up with another option. We looked at various options. We hadn't worn the alternate jersey since 2000. It was decided silver was the silver fern and we worked in combination with the new jersey design."
The players are off for a couple of days R and R, with assistant coach Steve Hansen calling it a chance to be "normal human beings again".
Shand estimated about three-quarters of the players were staying in and around Aix-en-Provence, which is about 30 minutes drive from Marseille.
"It's always difficult when you're away from home. Our partners are here and that's refreshing," Hansen said.
"It's really good, just to have a couple of days when we can be normal human beings again with people that matter is important."
He added that the danger of turning players into machines was something "we've tried to avoid from day one".
"We believe there's rugby time and relaxation time," Hansen said. "I don't think you can ask people to be robots. They've got to be as normal as possible.
"When you've got 62 men and one woman in a touring party, that's not normal is it? Normal is what you have at home."
The All Blacks will reassemble tonight (NZT) as eyes turn to their final pool C game against Romania in Toulouse on Saturday.
Despite the unimpressive elements of the Scottish game, Hansen said those who played had not hurt their prospects of making the top side for the big games to come.
"I don't think anyone did themselves any harm. There's really not much difference between player A and player B for any team. You're talking one or two per cent, therefore the performance doesn't drop off that much."
