Reflecting on a proud past

To celebrate 100 years of test rugby in New Zealand the NZRU ran a series of celebration events around the country.

These were in the form of a ‘Speaker Series’ where old All Blacks and their foes were asked to come and speak to crowds of VIPs from here and from around the world.

The brand for the event had to acknowledge the sponsor for the event; Steinlager. Every touch point was designed to feel a little yesteryear, but with some modern sensibilities. Silver, Black and a dash of red became the signature.

A Special commemoration album for each venue was designed, featuring stories written by Ron Palenski. End papers featured the results of each and every test that had been played since 1903 in Australia. The original menu from that post match function, called ‘the picnic’, was the inspiration for the food for these events.

There was a huge following, tickets got snapped up, programmes were fought over and consquently became collectors items, adorned by many signatures of All Blacks past and present.