 The current New Zealand jersey is entirely black ( currently referred to as the ' blackest ' jersey ever created ) except the Adidas logo , the NZRU silver fern on the front and the AIG logo in the lower center ( all of which are darkened from previously ) . The 1884 New Zealand tour to Australia was the first overseas New Zealand rugby tour , and featured clothing very different from today 's jersey . Back then , the team donned a dark blue jersey , with gold fern on the left of the jumper . In 1893 the NZRU stipulated at its annual general meeting that the uniform would be black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers . However historic photographs suggest white shorts may have been used instead during these early years . Sometime between 1897 and 1901 there was a change ; by 1901 the team met NSW in a black jersey , a canvas top with no collar , and a silver fern . 
