THERE ARE PLENTY of GAA managers who would approve of this.
Black rugby boots are becoming an endangered species. 10 years ago, the only players deviating from a basic pair of footwear with a little bit of white trim were either wingers or forwards with notions.
Nowadays though, the colour of the boot is becoming just as important as the length of the stud as players try and express themselves, but the All Blacks have now decided to turn that fad on its head (insert your own Tana Umaga/Brian O’Driscoll joke here).
As part of their “Force of Black” campaign for New Zealand, adidas have commissioned new blackout boots for every member of the squad, meaning each player will be head to toe in darkness.
They’ve come up with four different boot designs, based on players’ positions, with each one completely blacked out.
The All Blacks (we can now definitely call them that) will try out their new kicks in their second meeting with Australia on August 15, before continuing to wear them during the tournament.
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