SARrugby.com

 Since the All Blacks have joined the long list of sports teams to display shirt sponsors,will rugby take the next step into commercialism and begin customizing squad numbers?(each player gets his own shirt number) Sports teams in cricket,football,Aussie Rules,various American sports all have customized squad numbers.

Every year a club like Barcelona make a bucket load selling Messi #10 shirts,as do real madrid with Ronaldo#9.In soccer, a sport that once too just numbered shirts based on who was in the starting XI,the big name players tend to get shirts 7 to 11 .I'm sure a Bryan Habana shirt would have sold very handsomly amongst Stormers fans(especially those living in Preotira) back in 2010 when he made the move,as would a  Victor Matfield or Bakkies Botha shirt amongst Bulls fans when they were the darlings of Loftus,as a Beast shirt would sell well amongst Sharks fans.

It goes against traditions,but the added revenue wouldn't hurt anyone.I'm just wondering what the rugby purists on the forums would feel if their beloved blue Bulls or Cheetahs had a front three scrumming down,wearing numbers like 69,77 and 99?

I suppose it is quite possible that it might happen, But to be honest with you, It would take a lot of getting used to.

I am not so sure If I will take to it that easily, numbers define a position but yeah well alot has changed over the years, no matter how hard it would be to get used to.

All traditions cease to exist at some point in history.

 Football/Soccer only started with customized numbers in the nineties.Before that,Numbers were assigned to positions,1 was the goalkeeper,2 - 5 were defenders etc

only now just read this thread, but a great topic.

for what its worth i would prefer that the numbers are a representation of the positions, though i have a feeling that in my lifetime i will see that change to something similar to what it is in soccer and what have u.

i could only imagine what a SBW jersey would have done for the chiefs and the All Blacks, same with Richie McCaw and dan carter, especially in japan where more NZ rugby merchandise is sold than anywhere else in the world. fondly enough, france is the 2nd biggest market for NZ rugby merchandise.
even in SA NZ merchandise would have sold very well, just look at the SA 7s, its always a crack up listenting to saffas (mainly the coloureds and blacks) wearing the NZ colours and saying how much they want NZ to win, LMAO, :oP

could u imagine what a jonah lomu jersey would have done for the markets, even in SA where he was the ansolute darling amongst the black and cloured communities, o_O

 Back in 1999 already, a lot of Stormers fans was walking around with a black jersey sporting " 8 SKINSTAT"

Any sports team should tap into the brand and maximize the revenue. Plain business I would say.