Bummer! Nude Blacks pull pin on curtain raiser

Cape Town - Crouch, touch, and for the moment, paused.

The Nude Blacks - New Zealand's naked rugby team - will not be part of the entertainment before the All Blacks v Wales Test in Dunedin on Saturday, June 25.

According to the Stuff website, the Dunedin-based team has played unofficial curtain raisers before each All Black Test held in the city since 2002, attracting thousands of spectators and generating worldwide media interest.

This means the Nude Blacks would be on hiatus until 2017, when the Lions play the Highlanders, and the All Blacks play Australia at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

The All Blacks and Wales will do battle in Wellington this weekend, before concluding their three-Test series in Dunedin.

The All Blacks won the opening Test 39-21 in Auckland.