I don't like cannabis.
I don't like the feeling and I detest the cognitive impairment. All of my friends know this except I found out, my friend Simon.
On the day of the
2011 Rugby World Cup Final everyone gathered at my place in the central city so we could go together to Eden Park on the train. We were having a great time: I spun some records, we had a few drinks, laughing and chatting together. Excitement tinged with trepidation built as the match approached.
Raphaël Lakafia, one of the French players, phoned to offer us two free tickets and we ran around finding friends to gift them to. It was all great fun.
I didn't think anything of it when Simon took me aside and gave me a piece of fudge. When I was completely off my face later he said
"what did you think was in it?!" I thought it was just a piece of fudge you total dick but we'll get to that part later.
In 1905 the
All Black Originals toured the northern hemisphere for the first time, playing matches in France, the UK and the USA. 60 jerseys for the players on the tour were constructed of wool and linen, and the
Silver Fern emblem was embroidered with silk. The wool was spun at
Manawatu Knitting Mills and the embroidery was performed by
Robert Embroidery, both in Palmerston North.
The All Black Originals, 1905/1906
Eleven of the jerseys are known to exist today. One resides at New Zealand Rugby House in Wellington, one is held by the Wales Rugby Union at the
Arms Park Museum in Cardiff and another is held at the
New Zealand Rugby Museum in Palmerston North. The remaining eight are held by private collectors. One
featured on the Antiques Roadshow back in 2000. Another
sold for £180,000 at auction a decade ago.
Wool and linen don't mix. Each of the eleven remaining jerseys has deteriorated, badly.
To preserve the jerseys for as long as possible the two museums took the decision to cease exhibiting them in 2007. To maintain both exhibitions the
Rugby Museum Society of New Zealand privately funded the construction of two reproductions: one for New Zealand Rugby, the other to be gifted to the Wales Rugby Union.
Reproductions as you'll see, isn't quite the right term.
The Rugby Museum Society retained the textiles expert
Tina Downes from the School of Design at
Massey University to head the
research project. Fortuitously Manawatu Knitting Mills and Robert Embroidery were still going concerns. Ms. Downes worked with the companies to construct two perfect reproductions of the jersey worn by
Jimmy Hunter, All Black #118.
The project took three years.
As a lifetime member of the Rugby Museum I became aware of it in early 2010 as construction of the two jerseys neared completion. I approached museum director
Stephen Berg to enquire if the Museum Society were open to the possibility of constructing a third jersey. Berg and Downes were so enamoured with the idea they agreed, and took the decision to construct a further twelve for a total of fifteen, the number of players on a rugby team.
Fourteen of the jerseys are identical, perfect
reissues of the jersey worn by Jimmy Hunter 105 years previously. All are held by museums around the world. To my knowledge the only jersey in the possession of a private collector is mine. It's made to my measurements or at least, my measurements at the time. Constructing it took three months.
The first time one of these appeared in public was when
I wore it to the final. Due to the demand for selfies with other fans I missed much of the match, and in
ALL of those many, many photographs I'm white as a sheet and very obviously stoned out of my gourd.
Because my mate Simon roofied me.
Sooooo many pictures. In the days after the match delirious All Black fans posted them everywhere.
-SRA. Auckland, 31/i 2024.
Simon's Jersey
