Hi-tech ionised jerseys boost ABs' opponents

By PHIL HAMILTON - The Press | Tuesday, 4 September 2007

 

 

 

 

Canterbury of New Zealand has unveiled a new hi-tech rugby jersey that will be worn by Australia, South Africa, Scotland, Ireland and Japan at the World Cup, which starts this weekend.

The jerseys have been ionised, a process first used by the World War 2 German Luftwaffe to keep bomber crews alert, in a bid to lift the players' performance.

Christchurch-based Canterbury product manager Richard Bryant said the jerseys react with sweat to create a negative ionisation charge, stimulating the flow of oxygen-enriched blood, bringing more energy to the muscles.

"It helps healing and performance," Bryant said.  "It means you can recover more quickly and train harder."

Scientists at the United Kingdom's top sports science university, Loughborough, conducted a double blind test and found it gave athletes a 2.7 per cent increase in performance.  Bryant said that may not sound like much but at the top level it was crucial.

"We were talking to George Gregan when he was coming back from injury and he said he increased his bench press by just 1 per cent from working out all year. "People at the top are striving for just 0.1 per cent improvement so 2.7 is actually quite a bit."

Bryant said the Wallabies were initially sceptical but became believers after conducting their own tests.

With the company supplying five rivals of the All Blacks, Bryant said it left them in a difficult bind between loyalty to their national team and to the new technology.  But he was hoping that the All Blacks were at least 2.7 per cent better than the sides using their jerseys.

"Is it being disloyal to the All Blacks? It's a hard one to balance," he said. "These guys are going to increase their performance but who knows what level the All Blacks are at?"

The clothing, called Ionx, will also be trialled by New Zealand athletes such as golfer Michael Campbell and cyclist Julian Dean.

While the Nazis carried out the process by bombarding pilots with ionised atoms, the secret technology used by Canterbury has been installed into the jersey, which is made in China, by changing its molecular structure.

New Zealand golfer Marcus Wheelhouse is a fan of the process after finding it aided his recovery and kept him more alert on the golf course.  "I was sceptical but now I have worn it and experienced this lift in performance I am sold on it," Wheelhouse said.

Ionisation is a natural process which occurs when atoms become positively or negatively charged, such as during electrical storms or in the vicinity of waterfalls.

The ionisation technology has been used regularly since the Luftwaffe pioneered it, first by the USSR and now the US. The US Special Forces have negative ionisation generators sewn into the collars of their fatigues to keep them more alert.