My take on this, is that it’s just plain farkin stupid. The only thing that makes me angry about it, is it’s such a typically English farknuckle thing to do. It’s just farkin stupid. What other nation would have the temerity - or the lack of dignity - to adopt another team’s home colours as their change strip for a RWC, in that country?
It’s not about owning the colour black, or being offended by it. Other teams have worn black before (Wales, Canada), and no probs with that all. Cause those games have not been in New Zealand. Similarly, I doubt many Aussies would care if, say, Scotland decided to wear gold (in fact I think Wales did wear yellow once or twice), but for a tournament in Australia? Australians would be a little WTF about it? Saffers would query New Zealand turning up in dark green and gold for a RWC in SA.
That some English fans have claimed double-standards from those Kiwis that have cracked the shits over it, because NZ’s alternate strip is (2007 excepted) a white jersey, are missing the point by so farkin far it’s not even funny. For a start, New Zealand’s jersey colours were historically black and white. We have only ever worn the white jersey against Scotland, in NZ, or (IIRC) at RWC1995 in SA). We’ve also been doing it for decades, since white is the opposite as black and as mentioned above, has always been NZ’s “second” colour. There’s also a plain simple tendency for teams to opt for a white colour as their alternate. Sports teams all over the world often opt for white as an alternate.
I think a lot of NZ fans have got wound up cause they are foreseeing a 2007-style jersey ambush coin toss switch-a-roo, but that won’t happen cause if we play the twats they’ll be in white and we’ll be in black. But nevertheless, a lot of Kiwis are spewing – epic PR fail by England IMO. I only hope a few of them have got tickets to the England v Arg game in Dunedin, where the black jersey will be worn, and scream the farkin house down in support of Arg. Sadly I expect most the tickets will be bought by Pom fans.
Ian Bell was farkin out, too. Idiot.
Thanks