Wearing your Bok on your sleeve

 

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.