The design of the new Springbok Sevens kit which was unveiled on Wednesday caused a bit of a stink, but SARU have moved swiftly to ensure that nobody's knickers get tied in any knots.

The new kit, designed by sponsors Canterbury whose head offices are in England, sports a unique design which raised a few eyebrows at the Blitzbokke's photocall session in Port Elizabeth.

The bottom half of the kit sports a print which makes it look as if the players are wearing 'tighty whities' rather than traditional rugby shorts, but SARU moved quickly to show everyone just who wears the pants by replacing the bold new design with the usual all-white shorts worn by the Boks for years.

The look may work for Superman, but as far as supporters are concerned the effect is more like kryptonite with many perplexed by this high-profile wardrobe malfunction.

The Sevens team has always been something of a separate entity to the 15-man code within South African rugby, with its own branding and marketing drives aimed at creating a unique identity, but this time things went a bit too far for parent body SARU's liking and they promptly put their foot down.

A Canterbury spokesman and former University of Cape Town football club director of rugby Spencer King told Beeld: "We are convinced that the public will eventually come to like the outfit.

"We would never design something that will embarrass the management or players," he added.

Although the team are free to train in the new design if they so wish, when they run out to represent the country in the upcoming Sevens World Series they will be wearing the more traditional all-white shorts.