Cape Town - The South African Rugby Union announced on Friday the outcome of deliberations regarding the placement of logos and emblems on the playing jersey of South African teams at IRB World Cup events.

Several months of discussions took place with the relevant regulatory authorities before the Executive Council ruled on the management of the placing of the Springbok logo on team jerseys.

To conform to all contractual and legislative requirements the Springbok logo will be placed on the left sleeve of the playing jersey for the duration of Rugby World Cup tournaments. This temporary switch only applies to IRB events and mirrors the approach of other international unions.

“The decision was very straight forward in the end as our attempts to find a place for the Springbok on the front of the jersey failed to find favour,” said Dr Jan Marais, chairperson of the Executive Council. “We were left with no choice and the important point to note is that this application will only be for IRB World Cup events.”

Dr Marais explained that a maximum of three marks are allowed on the front of a team jersey at IRB World Cup events: a nation’s national emblem (on the left breast); the event mark (right breast) and the logo of the apparel sponsor (centre).

SARU explored the possibility of applying a fourth mark - the Springbok badge - either in conjunction with the national emblem of the King Protea or with that of apparel sponsor Canterbury, but both ideas were rejected.

“The IRB’s regulations and those of the National Colours Act are both clear and although we held discussions to look at options the cleanest solution was to put the Springbok on the sleeve on its own,” said Dr Marais.

The solution matches that of Australia. Their Wallaby logo is placed on the sleeve of their World Cup playing jersey to accommodate the IRB’s tournament mark.

The new placement was first applied by the Springbok Women’s team at the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup in England (see attached picture of Lorinda Brown, courtesy Gallo Images). 

The Springboks’ World Cup jersey - specially designed to a high-tech specification by Canterbury - featuring all the applicable badges and trademarks will be unveiled in July 2011.