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Fans lament the 'fitting' way that Super Rugby Aotearoa is signing off for 2020
Super Rugby Aotearoa has been an excellent competition – there’s no doubt about it. While any rugby would have been looked upon favourably after the extended period without sport earlier in the year, the solely New Zealand competition has been incredibly well-received for a multitude of reasons.
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One aspect that has frustrated fans, however, is the needless use of alternative strips – especially given the fact that only two sides in the competition share the same primary colour on their uniform.
When the Blues hosted the Highlanders in the early rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Blues donned their secondary strips – which were effectively just a lighter shade of blue. This created an unfortunate jersey clash, which made the match unnecessarily difficult to follow.
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It brought back memories of the clash between the Highlanders and the Blues from earlier in the season when the Bulls were forced to change kits at half-time due to the similarities of the uniforms.
Now, in the final match of Super Rugby Aotearoa, played in front of an empty stadium due to coronavirus restrictions, the Highlanders have once again been involved in a ridiculous jersey situation.
The travelling Hurricanes, instead of wearing their traditional yellow and black jerseys, marched out onto the field wearing their grey-blue alternate strips – and fans were instantly incensed.
FFS why aren't @Hurricanesrugby in yellow? #HIGvHUR @TheCountry @rowie_nz @blairdrysdale77 @deanrabbidge @skysportnz
— Andrew Thompson (@Pandasport) August 15, 2020
First the game has no crowd and now there’s the most stupidest kit clash ????? #HIGvHUR
— ryanator109 ?? (@ryanator109) August 15, 2020
It was bad enough that the Hurricanes were wearing an ‘away’ strip when there was no clash in the first place – but the change actually created a clash, with the dark blue of the Highlanders fairly similar to the grey Hurricanes jerseys.
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They've actually made a jersey clash when there wasn't one. #HIGvHUR
— Mark Currie (@MarkCurrieNZ) August 15, 2020
Slightly torturous watching Highlanders in dark blue and Hurricanes in grey #HURvHIGH
— Matt Hall-Smith (@MattHallSmith21) August 15, 2020
Can someone explain why the @Hurricanesrugby are playing in blue as well as the Highlanders? Nightmare for TV viewing which is what everyone has to do. #HIGvHUR
— Ben Carswell (@bcarswell) August 15, 2020
Why are the Canes not wearing yellow? Talk about a colour clash? #HIGvHUR
— ¯_(?)_/¯ (@Vinsanity275) August 15, 2020
Stupid choice of team colours @SuperRugbyNZ . Very hard to clearly distinguish each team on @skysportnz #HIGvHUR
— Gungehammer (@Gungehammer) August 15, 2020
I understand the marketing side of it but damn blue vs yellow is a much nicer contrast than blue vs grey ? #HIGvHUR
— Jake Beleski (@JBeleski) August 15, 2020
Who approved this ridiculous jersey clash!? Can we please give Adidas the ? and play in home jerseys all the time next season? #HIGvHUR #SuperRugbyAotearoa
— Alister L (@al_nz) August 15, 2020
The piped-in crowd noise is weird and echo-y but definitely better than eerie silence. Wish the Canes were wearing their normal colour jerseys coz the lilac is harder to tell from the Highlanders' blue on wide shots. #HIGvHUR
— Asher Wilson-Goldman (@AsherGoldman) August 15, 2020
Sunlight is streaming into our lounge, and we can’t tell the difference between the Highlanders in navy and the Hurricanes is grey. The requirement to wear an away strip when there’s no clash of colours is just bizarre. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #HIGvHUR
— Tony Stuart (@TonyStuart55) August 15, 2020
@NZRugby @Hurricanesrugby @skysportnz Can we get them to change shirts? Rubbish for EVERY fan having to watch on TV #HIGvHUR #kitclash
— Ben Carswell (@bcarswell) August 15, 2020
The only disappointing aspect of #SuperRugbyAotearoa would have to be the away jerseys and more importantly the clashes for some games. Who signed off @Hurricanesrugby not wearing their normal yellow strip for this game? #HIGvHUR
— Paul Muollo ???? (@88TheDon) August 15, 2020
Some fans were also quick to jump on the irony of the match officials wearing yellow, the Hurricanes’ normal colours.
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Hurricanes had to wear alternative strip so they didnt clash with the ref?? #HIGvHUR
— Mediocrates (@mediocrates007) August 15, 2020
Jersey colours are far too similar in #HIGvHUR game. The match officials are wearing yellow, guess I'll cheer for them!#SuperRugbyAotearoa
— Wendy Ross (@Zacross) August 15, 2020
Surprised the ref isn’t wearing a shade of blue to match the teams #SuperRugbyAotearoa #HIGvHUR
— Gavin Huet (@GavinHuet) August 15, 2020
While there’s no argument that Super Rugby Aotearoa has been a raging success, despite the interruptions in the final round due to the global pandemic, fans will be eternally hopeful that the jersey situation is cleared up for the future. As rugby historian Jamie Wall noted, however, the colour clash was a laughably suitable way for the competition to sign off for the year.
Fitting to finish Super Rugby 2020 with a jersey clash.
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) August 15, 2020
