South Africa's rugby team will debut a new jersey that features the protea taking precedence over the springbok - which has long caused tension in the country - during the Lions tour in June.
SA Rugby did not set a date for the formal launch of the new design in a statement on Wednesday, but said the team will sport the new jerseys for the first time in a June 20 test match against the Lions in Durban.
They will feature the king protea, the national sports emblem, on the left and a leaping springbok on the right. The change was agreed last year.
Supporters of rugby's century-old springbok emblem say it evokes pride and passion. Its detractors say white racists' passionate support of the symbol make it unacceptable.
The country's first black president, Nelson Mandela, famously sported the Springbok jersey in a gesture of racial reconciliation when South Africa won the 1995 World Cup at home following the abolition of apartheid.
