The Springboks did not wear their traditional green and gold jersey against France on Saturday evening. The visitors instead donned their alternative white jerseys at Stade de France.
This change stems from World Rugby’s new policy implemented from 2025. Test teams must wear either ‘light’ or ‘dark’ kits to assist colour blind spectators.
World Rugby adopted this policy to make it easier for the approximately 300 million colour blind people worldwide to watch matches.
Former World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont suffers from colour blindness himself. The governing body implemented the policy across all World Rugby-run competitions.
Whilst the France versus South Africa match falls within World Rugby’s international window, the Quilter Nations Series operates under Six Nations governance. The Six Nations has also adopted these colour blindness guidelines for their competitions.
The Springboks changed to white jerseys because their dark green clashes with France’s navy blue kit. World Rugby’s guidelines specifically address such dark colour combinations for improved viewing.
New Zealand Rugby and South African Rugby reportedly resist adopting these Six Nations guidelines. Both unions maintained traditional colours throughout the 2025 Rugby Championship matches recently.
The Springboks and All Blacks wore their home jerseys in both New Zealand encounters. They plan to continue this approach during next year’s Greatest Rivalry Tour.
“SA Rugby supports World Rugby’s inclusivity ambitions but has serious reservations about colour blindness regulations,” said SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer in 2023.
“These regulations would prevent Springboks and All Blacks meeting in primary colours at World Rugby events.”
The policy creates ongoing tension between tradition and accessibility in international rugby.
