The Western Force has officially unveiled its new black and blue playing strip for its debut in next year's expanded Super 14 rugby tournament.

But Australia's latest sporting team admits it still has plenty of "grey areas" to overcome before combating the likes of the Crusaders and Waratahs in 2006.

Wallabies hooker and inaugural Force signing Brendan Cannon was on hand to reveal the uniform the team will wear in its debut next March.

The Western Australian symbol of the black swan wraps around an 'ocean blue' shirt from front to back - a considerably darker blue than that worn by NSW.

As expected airline Emirates also adorns the shirt front as the team's inaugural major sponsor in a multi-million dollar deal signed until the end of 2008.

Gold replaces the blue in the otherwise identical away strip.

The uniform has strong ties to Western Australian culture and is designed to appeal to locals, with Rugby WA officials hopeful of building a strong following in the traditional AFL state.

While the unveiling of the uniform represents another step towards next year's Super 14 competition, coach John Mitchell conceded there was still plenty to be done before the team became a rugby force.

A winger is still being sought to complete the roster, while issues such as the layoff between games during the season were still to be determined.

A rugby academy is also being built.

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