England All Blacks?
Reports are suggesting that on August 1st England and Nike will be unveiling an all black away strip ready for the World Cup. Reports are also suggesting that England will use this strip primarily for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Following these leaks this has been met with a certain degree of negativity from the people of New Zealand, with New Zealand Prime Minister branding England as 'Wannabe's'. There have also been reports saying that there was an agreement over this strip and that it was acceptable if it wasn't worn against The All Blacks.
So what is the significance of this? Are England trying to capture some of the magic of the All Blacks? Is this a ploy to take the New Zealander's minds off the Rugby itself? I personally have no idea why England have opted for this kit design but I for one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, believe in the sanctity of the England white strip with the red rose proudly on the chest. If this is an alternate strip as it is apparently named why is it being promoted as the kit that will be used for the World Cup. It is set to be debuted against Wales at Twickenham on August 6th.
Much of our identity as a nation is from the purity of the white flag and red cross. The pride every England fan feels pulling on that immaculate white shirt is irreplaceable and cannot be thrust upon us by an all black strip and a training strip with ancient Maori symbols and markings on it.
So far these are leaked reports, there are no images yet but sources seem to be reliable enough for this story to be spreading like wildfire. Only time will tell on the reasons for this dramatic and audacious decision to wear this strip for the World Cup.
I hope I'm not alone in my disappointment at potentially not seeing the traditional white England strip stepping out for the first game of the world cup against Argentina.
As always I would love to hear other fans thoughts on this whether you're a fan of England or New Zealand surely this is a hot topic for discussion.
