Tolerton on Wednesday | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

If we don't win the rugby World Cup this year, blame the clever marketing gurus at Adidas.

The 2007 All Black jersey was unveiled with the now usual fanfare last week.

And as it's been since July 1999, it's all black.

When New Zealand won the World Cup for the only time ? in the inaugural 1987 tournament ? the jersey had a white collar. And if you recall the other greatest occasions in All Blacks history ? the 1956 triumph over the Boks, the first series win in South Africa in 1996, the successful tours of Britain and France, in fact 90 years of All Black history ? the white collar was a constant.

We spurn tradition at our peril. If it all turns to custard at the World Cup again, you know the reason!

# Here we go again. Mainland Soccer is changing its name to Mainland Football because that's the global "brand."

Well, actually it isn't ? if you ask someone in the USA, or Dublin, or Wigan, or Sydney, or Melbourne, Perth, or Adelaide, chances are they won't think of soccer if you're talking about football. And, fact is, rugby is our national sport and that's what most Kiwis think of when you say "football."

The sport's local administrative body has variously been Canterbury Soccer, Garden City Kickers, Federation Six, and Mainland Soccer (OK, I made up one) in the past decade.

Before that for more than 90 years it was the Canterbury Football Association. Calling it "football" all that time caused only confusion. We know where soccer administrators are coming from, but I doubt that the new change really helps the sport.