Top teams turn to hi-tech to gain that extra edge on the field

England seemed unconcerned with the uproar caused when they announced their away strip would be black - all black.

As if that wasn't enough to raise eyebrows - and tempers - across the host nation, the English camp then went very public with their plans to tap into the world of science as they prepare to take their campaign for the Web Ellis Trophy in the antipodes.

Enlisting the help of the McLaren Formula One team, the English have apparently turned their attention to GPS and heart-monitoring systems as they chart their individual training and recovery programmes.

Famously, it was ex-England coach Clive Woodward who back in 2003 claimed that an edge in technology had helped his side win the World Cup in Australia and current England centre Mike Tindall, also part of that winning side, was recently bold enough to proclaim that other nations had since followed England's lead.

'Everyone has caught up and is at the same level so you really are looking for that half a per cent,' said Tindall.

It's a statement that no doubt brought a few chuckles in New Zealand. The All Blacks have been leaning on their nation's tech industries for years - the difference being that they don't like the rest of the world to know exactly what they are doing.