The new ASICS-designed and manufactured Springbok jersey for the Rugby World Cup was launched at a glittering event in Cape Town on Thursday, with the 100 day mark to the start of the global showpiece fast approaching.
The launch of the iconic jersey is the culmination of months of hard work by scientists at the ASICS Institute of Sport Science in Kobe, Japan, in collaboration with the South African Rugby Union (SARU).
Jean de Villiers, Tendai Mtawarira, Eben Etzebeth, Bismarck du Plessis, Duane Vermeulen, Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks and Pat Lambie took part in an extensive testing programme in Japan to fine tune the final product. They were accompanied by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and other members of the management team.
The main aims in the design of the Springboks’ apparel were to reduce weight without compromising on strength. The jersey for the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be the lightest ever worn by South Africa, at 70 grams lighter than any previous jersey.
It also has smooth surface making it harder than ever before to keep hold of in the tackle, while an area which has seen significant development after player insight is the Super-Grip silicone which features on the chest of the jersey.
“The road to England for the Rugby World Cup is a long one, and planning for it started a long time ago,” said Jurie Roux, SARU CEO. “You can be sure that no stone has been left unturned by South African Rugby in the Springbok campaign.
“But today we unveil the first, and one of the most critical elements of that process – our new ASICS-designed Springbok Rugby World Cup jersey. We know our supporters have been dying to get their hands on it.
“But this isn’t just a new variation on a traditional theme of green and gold. It is a meticulously designed and engineered jersey to give the Springboks the blend of comfort and performance to give them the edge on the field.
“Every detail is designed to benefit the wearer’s performance – because that is ASICS’ main driver and a key consideration when we formed our partnership.”
Alistair Cameron, CEO of ASICS Europe B.V., said they had put in hundreds of hours of hard work and meticulous planning to ensure the Springboks have a competitive edge at the Rugby World Cup.
“We are passionate about preparation and performance, as success is not an accident,” said Cameron.
“We have collected data and insights from the Springboks and created products that actively enhance their performance. Together with the South African Rugby Union we have developed a kit which will help the Springboks in their ultimate aim of lifting and keeping the Webb Ellis Cup.”
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said: “Iif we can bottle the atmosphere and enthusiasm from this launch, then we’ll start the Rugby World Cup on a very positive note. We’re amazed at the level of detail and research that ASICS has put into creating the kit, which reflects the detail we put into our own preparation.”
The Springboks Rugby World Cup replica apparel will be available countrywide at all leading sports retailers from 5 June 2015. For more information visit www.asics.co.za
Technical detail – Jersey
The Springbok rugby jersey features three key areas of technical updates which bring a new level of detail to rugby jerseys. ASICS understand the needs of rugby players and has developed technologies aimed at improving performance.
Every aspect of the Springbok jersey has been designed with the aim of reducing weight without compromising on strength. The jersey made by ASICS will be the lightest jersey ever worn at a Rugby World Cup by the Springboks. At 70 grams lighter than any previous rugby jersey it allows the players to play with freedom and reduces fatigue, with small margins making big differences.
Featuring two combined materials ASICS has created a jersey with high tensile strength and a smooth surface making it harder than ever before to keep hold of in the tackle. The mechanical weave is designed to stretch, allowing players to bind to each other, but it also ‘snaps back’ quickly making it hard for players to grip in the tackle.
An area which has seen significant development after player insight is the Super-Grip silicone which features on the chest of the jersey. The grip is graduated down the ribcage rather than being high on the chest. Having graduated grip keeps weight down whilst also ensuring critical areas used for protecting the ball when running and catching maintain the most grip.
The reduced grip also has the effect of improving the breathability in a key area of the shirt, something which benefits the players throughout the duration of a high intensity test match.
The hexagon shapes featured on the jersey provide the most points of contact with the ball, an important part of creating the best grip.
By repositioning the grip lower on the ribcage the players also feel a benefit in binding onto one another in scrum and maul situations.
The level of detail from ASICS has been extended across the jersey with the old woven logos making way for 3D badging and hot melt technology. The addition of 3D badging has a significant effect on the weight of the shirt, while also improving the visibility of the Springboks logo on TV.
Technical detail – Socks
ASICS introduced graduated compression socks into the Springboks apparel at the first launch. With the knowledge developed from running products ASICS saw a clear performance benefit in bringing graduated compression socks to rugby.
However, after working with players to gain their insight the socks have been improved with a cotton footbed that improves the traction of the foot on the boot.
The socks work to improve blood flow, this alleviates fatigue, allowing players to play harder for longer as well as aiding recovery post-game.
ASICS socks also feature a moisture wicking yarn improving comfort and nano-glide technology in the heel and toe to stop blisters.
waars die bok
Saru is not to blame for the Springbok emblem’s absence from the front of the new World
there are thousands of furious Bok fans who won’t be buying the jersey that was launched in Cape Town on Thursday evening. This is because the Bok emblem has once again been shifted to the left sleeve, with the Protea emblem over the heart, the Asics logo in the middle and the 2015 World Cup logo on the other side.
Those fans have a right to be upset – they are passionate about the Bok emblem and believe it should be prominently displayed – but they are wrong to be slamming Saru.
Saru knows the commercial value of the Bok emblem but has no choice but to move it to the left sleeve of the World Cup jersey, as World Rugby insists that there can only be three logos on the front of the jersey: the World Cup logo, the apparel sponsor’s logo and the team logo (the Boks also have the Webb Ellis Cup on their right sleeve with the dates of their World Cup wins – 1995 and 2007 – underneath).
Like it or not, the Protea emblem is the official emblem of all South African sports teams, according to the government’s National Colours Act, and therefore takes precedence over the Springbok.
In 2010, when the Boks’ 2011 World Cup jersey was launched, Dr Jan Marais, chairman of the Saru executive council, explained the decision to move the Bok to the left sleeve.
‘It was very straightforward in the end as our attempts to find a place for the Springbok on the front of the jersey failed to find favour,’ he said. ‘We were left with no choice and the important point to note is that this application will only be for World Cup events.’
Saru explored the possibility of applying a fourth mark – the Springbok emblem – either in conjunction with the Protea emblem or with the apparel sponsor logo but both ideas were rejected.
Since then, the Springboks, Junior Springboks and Springbok Women’s side have all played with the Bok emblem on the left sleeve during World Rugby tournaments. So there shouldn’t have been any surprise when the 2015 World Cup jersey was revealed on Thursday and the Bok was not on the front of it.
There were also complaints about the size of the Bok emblem on the sleeve (it is very small compared to the Protea), but that, too, is determined by World Rugby’s jersey regulations. Don’t blame Saru.
And it’s not just the Boks who are affected. The Wallabies also have two logos – the Australian coat of arms and the Wallaby emblem – which means the Wallaby has to move to the left sleeve during the World Cup to accommodate the World Cup logo.
South African rugby fans can take some consolation from the fact that while the Bok emblem is not on the front of the World Cup jersey, it does at least appear somewhere on the jersey and the team continues to be called the Springboks.
Some people have been up in arms about the placement of the Springbok logo on the sleeve of the jersey for the World Cup.
World Rugby regulations state that in all of their official events only three logos – national emblem, apparel sponsor and the tournament logo – are allowed to appear on the front of the jersey.
These are the contractual requirements of World Rugby which were applied in October 2010 and have applied to every World Cup men’s women’s, Sevens and Under-20 tournaments since.
This means that the Springbok logo for the upcoming World Cup has been moved to the sleeve, as it was for the last World Cup in 2011 and as it has been for the Junior Springboks in every Junior World Cup since.
These requirement have also forced other countries to do the same, with the Wallabies logo also moved to the sleeve of the Australian jersey for the World Cup.
The national sports emblem of South Africa which features a Protea is the emblem for all national sporting teams of which the Springboks are one.
However, despite all this there have still been some people who have voiced their displeasure at the placement of the Springbok logo when the World Cup jersey was launched on Thursday.
Although the Springbok logo will move back to the chest for all matches not played at the World Cup, as it did after the last World Cup, this has not stopped certain people from complaining about a decision that was enforced by World Rugby over four years ago.
emboss hulle nie die hele bok trui voor met daai fancy pancy silikon nonslip strips in n bok vorm nie asics kan dan met die een of ander simpel weetenskaplike storie kom oor hoekom dit juis daai vorm is ……
smallies wrote:
Dit bou karakter
Die enigste probleem gaan wees as Heyneke te opgewonde raak en hy gryp sy arm kan mense dalk dink hy is besig om n hart aanval te kry in plaas van sy gebruiklike over excitement
nortie wrote:
Jy moes Ian McIntosh gedurende ‘n wedstryd gesien het
Hy het omtrent twee sigarette per minuut gerook en sy oë het uitgepeul asof die aliens terselfdertyd besig was op hom te probe
Nuwe trui geval my geensins, lyk soos een van daai natuurbewaarders van Grootbos Reservaat agter my huis in Gansbaai se “pull-overs”….
…of een of ander regeringspan soos Korrektiewe Dienste se sportdrag….
Daai moerse protea op die en piepklein Springbokkie op die mou?
Siessa!!!@
Ons kan allerhande ou redetjies aanvoer, maar ons weet almal wat sit agter dit, politiek, niks anders nie. Hulle kon net sowel die ANC logo voorop gesit het met Zuma se bakkies op die mou….
)
Raait, nou het ek my straaltjie ingepiepie….kom byt my julle!!
(Kleinseun moet waag om vir my te se hy wil eendag graag n rugbyblom wees, ek moer vir hom!
@ nortie:
Bullshyte Nortie!
Take a look at the position of the silver fern and kangaroo, for instance, prominently displayed on the left chest of the NZ and Ozzie jerseys, compared to ours.
@ Pietman:
All SA teams must have the Protea as the official national emblem, the kiwis don’t have that, they have only the fern.
Comparing apples with oranges.
Also, don’t shoot the messenger
@ nortie:
and no one calls them the ferns either
@ Pietman:
Here is the Wallaby 2011 WC jersey, note the kangaroo on the sleeve.
Attachment:
@ nortie:
no I won’t!!
But that protea is overwhelmingly large…
On top of which I am allergic to proteas, fynbos and such…
MacroPolo wrote:
Kiwis, All Blacks, Silver Ferns…we have only one…SPRINGBOKS!
Pietman wrote:
Stront man, jy het al erger twakkies gerook as daai blomme
@ nortie:
Versta djy Sesant!
@ Pietman:
Kan jy jou voorstel as daai Dagga Party eendag die ANC moet klop?
Dan sal daai Protea seker deur n aap twakkie vervang word
@ nortie:
Ja, daggabos op linkerbors en n zol oppie mou…
joke in France is new springkoks shirt is that of montpellier
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