Rugby: McCaw rules out jersey colour as an issue

Richie McCaw isn't bothered by England's decision to wear a black alternate strip. Photo / Greg Bowker

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw will keep his eye on the ball rather than the colour of the opposition's jerseys during this year's rugby World Cup.

London's Daily Mail newspaper has reported that England's alternate strip at the tournament will be all black and would be worn for their opening pool match against Argentina in Dunedin on September 10.

England would also don it for three warm-up matches in August before they depart for New Zealand.

However, while the Mail said the decision was "certain to ruffle a few Kiwi feathers", McCaw downplayed the issue, saying jersey colour was something that was out of players' control.

"If it comes down to what colour you wear determines how you play, then we've got trouble," he said.

"That's the attitude we've got to have. What will be, will be. It would be nice to be in black, but if we're not, well, you just get on with it."

There is unlikely to a colour clash if the All Blacks do play England, whose primary strip is all white.

However, a toss of the coin is expected to be needed when they face pool opponents France, whose "home" jersey is a combination of royal blue and dark blue.

As for the prospect of the All Blacks having to put on their "away" strip, McCaw pointed to their "good performance" in their last meeting with France.

In Marseille in 2009, the All Blacks wore white jerseys on the way to a comprehensive 39-12 victory.

The All Blacks squad for the Tri-Nations have been in a two-day camp ahead of a one-off test against Fiji in Dunedin next Friday night.

The coaching staff have talked about the need to manage players individually, given the different amount of rugby they had played.

The Crusaders have had a particularly heavy workload, having made the Super rugby final and travelled big distances along the way.

McCaw agreed that he was at a different stage compared with other fellow Crusaders.

A foot injury meant the 94-test flanker spent a significant stretch of the Super 15 on the sidelines, before making his return late in the competition.

He said giving some players from the Crusaders, as well as some from semifinalists the Blues, a bit of a breather would pay dividends down the track.

"We have faith in the fellows that are fresh and ready to go," he said.

"When you look down the squad of 30, there's some good players there who will be able to fit in."

While he was looking forward to getting back into action, McCaw will not be playing in Canterbury's national provincial championship match against Auckland at Eden Park on Sunday.

All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith said the reason was that McCaw would have a big season ahead of him.

"The games are going to pile up pretty quickly for him, so that's the decision we made."

Smith also said the selectors believed there was sufficient cover in the squad not to have to call in a replacement for Richard Kahui.

The centre is expected to be out for three to four weeks after straining a hamstring in training on Monday.

- NZPA