Sportswear giant adidas has again renewed its long-standing partnership with the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) national governing body for rugby union.

The deal, announced today (March 30), continues a relationship that began in 1999 and will take the partnership past the quarter-century mark.

It sees Adidas remain the apparel and principal partner of NZR, providing playing kit, sportswear, boots, and footwear for New Zealand’s national teams.

These include the men’s All Blacks, women’s Black Ferns, All Blacks Sevens, Black Ferns Sevens, Māori All Blacks, All Blacks XV second string, Under 20s, and Heartland XV lower-level representative team.

The partnership was last extended in 2017 and comes ahead of this year’s men’s Rugby World Cup in France, which runs from September 8 to October 28.

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NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said: “Adidas has always been a valued long-term partner and this renewal is an endorsement of its commitment and shared passion for NZR.

"We have seen huge successes across our teams during the past 24 years and shared in the excitement of Rugby World Cup success across both the All Blacks and Black Ferns. We can maximize opportunities to innovate through sport performance, while also engaging and reaching our fans on a global scale.”

Bjørn Gulden, chief executive of Adidas, added: “We are very proud to continue our successful partnership with New Zealand Rugby and all Teams in Black. We had many fantastic moments together over the past 24 years and we will create many more, starting with the Rugby World Cup in France later this year.”

Adidas recently also agreed a long-term renewal with North America’s top-tier Major League Soccer worth a reported $830 million.

It is to be replaced by digital sports platform and e-commerce company Fanatics as the on-ice uniform supplier for North American ice hockey’s NHL, however.