Outfitting Of All Blacks Will Cost £1000

Chronicle (Levin), 5 October 1948, Page 5

Outfitting Of All Blacks Will Cost £1000

Press Association)

(Per

WELLINGTON, Oct. 5. Dress suits and starched shirt fronts are out as far as next year's tour of South Africa ,by the New Zealand rugby team is concerned. The official unif orm for social functions will be grey slacks and All Black blazers. Ties will be plaih black except for one moderately sized white "fern leaf. The letters "N.Z." will not appear. These decisions were reached at last night's meeting of the executive oi the New Zealand Rugby Union. In addition to their personal wardrobes, pla-yers will be issued with the following gear: Four jerseys, three pairs of football socks, three pairs of pants, one blazer, two pairs of grey slacks, two ties, one scarf, one pullover, one pair of sandshoes, one pair of football boots and one canvas kitbag. Silver ferns to lae worn on the lapel will also be handed to players. The union issue will not inelude hats or overcoats. Extra supplies of each item of equipment will be taken for the purposes of replaeement. The outfltting of the team will involve the layout of about £1000. Mr. J. H. Rarker said that unless South Africa expressed a desire to thfe contrary, he thought dress suits should be omitted. He doubted whether many of the players had them, or whether they would be able to procure them. He added that the 1924 team in England never wore dress suits on official occasions, although some of the players wore them at unofficia. functions. Mr. T. C. Morrison said that he had been impressed with the neat appearance of the 1946 Australian team . when wearing their grey slacks and green blazers, their official uniform. The chairman, Mr. A. St. C. Belcher, moving the adoption of the sub-committee's recommendations, expressed the opinion that all gear should, if possible, be obtained in New Zealand. ' Mr. E. J. Constable, honorary agent for the New Zealand Government in South Africa, advised that he had arranged for the All Blacks to be honorary members oi several clubs while they were in South Africa. The letter added thaii he was calling a meeting oi New Zealanders in Transvaal to decide what could be done to make the team's stay as pleasant as possible. • ~ ■