The All Blacks are the only team not sporting a Nations Championship badge on their jersey, and a New Zealand Rugby spokesman has revealed why.<\/p>\n
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed that Dave Rennie\u2019s charges do not have the tournament\u2019s logo pasted onto the right-hand shoulder of their jerseys.<\/p>\n
In fact, every other nation has donned the logo on the side of their shirts in the opening round of the competition, with the men from Aotearoa being the only exception.<\/p>\n
Why the All Blacks don\u2019t have the Nations Championship logo<\/p>\n
Popular Facebook page in New Zealand<\/a>, \u2018The Legend of Marty Banks\u2019, raised the question on why the All Blacks haven\u2019t followed suit with a photos of the Wallabies, Wales, Ireland, Springboks, England and France wearing jerseys featuring the patch and New Zealand\u2019s kit being artwork-free with the caption reading: \u201cDid NZ not get the memo on the \u2018Nations Championship<\/a>\u2018 logo?\u201d<\/p>\n However, an NZ Rugby spokesman confirmed to the New Zealand Herald that the union did in fact get the memo but opted not to oblige as it is not a requirement in the participation agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cNZR is very deliberate about what is placed on national team jerseys, including for commercial and non-commercial reasons,\u201d a spokesman told the publication.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere is no requirement in the Nations Championship participation agreement for the All Blacks to wear the mark on the jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the publication, the names or logos of only five corporate sponsors have appeared on the All Blacks jersey over the past 30 years: Canterbury of New Zealand, Steinlager, adidas, AIG and Altrad.<\/p>\n That is in stark contrast to many of the other nations, like South Africa, with the Springboks regularly changing their sponsors, most recently replacing telecoms giants MTN with FNB. Pick n Pay also features on the back of the jersey, whilst Blue Label Telecoms was infamously on the front of the jersey for just one year in 2016.<\/p>\n All Blacks legend: There is an \u2018issue\u2019 if World Rugby continues down TMO path as officials \u2018just not good enough\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Difference with Rugby World Cups<\/p>\n While NZ Rugby officials have rejected adding the round patch this time around to protect the integrity of the jersey, the All Blacks kit has featured World Rugby and IRB logos in the past during Rugby World Cups \u2013 but in that case, it is part of the participation agreement for all teams.<\/p>\n In fact, in 2019, Handre Pollard was spotted donning the incorrect Springboks jersey during the quarter-final victory over Japan and SA Rugby had to clarify why that was the case.<\/p>\n