It is the most famous and iconic team shirt in rugby, perhaps in any team sport around the world.
But this time, it’s Maori All Blacks who released their 2016 jersey, manufactured by Adidas. The Maori’s require that all players are verified as having a Maori bloodline before they are selected.
The design came as a result of a collaboration between the teams’s kaumātua (elder) and Maori artist Dave Burke.
Maori All Blacks 2016 Jersey
This is the Maori All Blacks jersey:
The black jersey features tonal patterns. Burke described them as being inspired by oceans around the New Zealand islands:
“The kōwhaiwhai patterns surrounding Tangaroa represent tidal flow, movement, strength, determination, power and speed.”
It encapsulates the free-flowing rugby for which the team is renowned, and draws on the inspirational traditional Māori culture.
Burke believes that the intricacy of the pattern captures the team’s unity:
“A waka paddle runs through the mānawa (heart) line and flows in through Tangaroa becoming the arero (tongue) of Tangaroa. This symbolises moving together in one direction with one heartbeat, unity, whānau and purpose.”
Meanwhile, the background represents scales, referencing the theme of Tangaroa, and the residents of his domain, such as Mangōpare, Mako and Mangōtipi.
