New Zealand has once again been left out of promotional material for next year's Rugby World Cup, despite being the current champions.
An email update sent to fans 12 days ago from The Front Row England 2015, RWC organisers included a graphic with facts about the upcoming competition and a world map, with New Zealand conspicuously absent.
Coming off the back of a promotional video released earlier this week by world cup officials which failed to feature any All Blacks, despite a line-up of players from a host of other nations, the map incident begins to look like a ploy to dampen Kiwis' self-esteem in the run-up to the tournament.
John Hogan, who received the email, said: "I think there is something going on there."
"I spotted it the day I got it, but I didn't think to do anything with it until I saw that incident with the video promotion the other day," he said.
However, the Englishman -- who claims to "wear black these days" -- brushed it off as "all good fun".
"I just found it quite amusing that it was just missing from the bottom right-hand corner, considering we are the current holders of the trophy."
He added: "Bloody pommies, eh?"
New Zealand Rugby declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the tournament organisers.
However, it pointed out there was "plenty of ABs content" in the email, which featured a 'Fan Focus' segment on Kiwi fans, and a small profile of Kieran Read, described as "an indispensable part of the No.1 ranked side in the world".
A closer inspection of the map suggests the RWC 2015 organisers may have failed their geography exams, as England, Ireland, Iceland, Japan and all the Pacific Islands also appear to be missing.
Comment was being sought from RWC organisers.
- Patrice Dougan of APNZ
