KEY POINTS:
France will wear their first-choice blue shirts but with white shorts and socks, while New Zealand will be in their change strip of Silver and black shirts with "dark" shorts and socks in Saturday's rugby World Cup quarter-final here at the Millennium Stadium.
Organisers announced the changes after a stalemate over team colours was eventually broken on the morning of the match.
The agreement was in line with the compromise proposal put forward on Friday by France team manager Jo Maso, who on Tuesday won the toss for choice of colours and opted for blue.
A recent change to the precise shade used means this now clashes with New Zealand's traditional black - something that has rarely been a problem in previous matches between the two countries.
But a particular problem in this situation, given that France had won the toss, was that the All Blacks came into this tournament having abandoned their longstanding white reserve shirt for a silvery grey colour with some black and black shorts and socks which now clashes with France's home kit.
A statement issued by Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) on Saturday said: "This decision was taken to ensure that players and match officials would be more able to identify players from each team and also in the interest of television viewers around the world.
"RWCL would like to thank the Unions for their assistance in reaching this agreement, in particular the FFR (French Rugby Federation) who had won the toss."
The statement added no-one was to blame for the initial impasse.
"During the review process all kit combinations were considered and it was clear that neither any Union nor the organising committee was at fault for the fact that the initial kit preference of the Unions could not be accommodated."
- AFP
