Monday, 8th October 2007 at 11:27 am

…and then New Zealand follow suit

Feverpitcher can vaguely remember Manchester United emerging from the tunnel in the 1995/96 season for an away game at Southampton, sporting - for the very first time - their new all grey away strip. 45 minutes later, United were 3-0 down; they changed at half-time into their blue and white third, but still lost the game 3-1, and that was the one and only time that United used that particular strip. Which takes us to New Zealand, and the latest World Cup disaster…

The All Blacks are so named for a very good reason: their playing colours have become a symbol of rugby power and mystique, and while the design of the playing kit has been upgraded significantly since the days of Colin Meads, the colour has only changed when absolutely necessary - and then a still eye-catching white jersey has taken the place of the traditional black.

All of which begs the question of why on earth a team so intrinsically linked with a particular colour suddenly went with grey? The regular All Black uniform has never been a problem in previous games against France, and in Feverpitcher’s opinion, ditching it was a major psychological blow.

No one has ever faced down the haka as the French did on Saturday night, and while Graham Henry’s constant tinkering with his first choice team has rightfully attracted derision, the uncertainty of the World Cup favourites was as uncharacteristic as their outfit on the night. The All Blacks as we know them, several people have suggested, simply weren’t there on Saturday (taking nothing away from a fine French performance, mind); that was true in more ways than one.