New Zealand Post issued two stamps featuring silver fern, the emblem adopted by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. With an unrivalled winning percentage since the first test against Australia in 1903, the All Blacks will carry the hopes and expectations of more than four million New Zealanders onto the field.

Despite decades of change in how the game of rugby is played, the current All Blacks have one key thing in common with the generations of All Blacks before them: they all wear the silver fern.

This distinctive emblem was adopted by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1893. Originally a graphic representation of the native ponga fern (Cyathea dealbata), it has been modified through the years to become the trademarked symbol we see today. Representing both a nation and a state of mind, it’s always placed on the left breast of the perennially black jersey, reflecting its place at the heart and tradition of rugby.

Title: All Blacks
Date of Issue: 4 August 2010
Country: New Zealand
Denominations: 60c, $1.90

Source: http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz

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