The England rugby team will wear an all black rugby jersey when they kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign against Argentina in Dunedin, New Zealand. Apparently both the shirt and shorts of this alternate jersey, produced by Nike, are black apart from the red rose badge. This is not the first time England have courted controversey, as the outgoing anthracite alternate jersey also drew parallels to the All Blacks jersey:
Chris Ashton - an Almost Black?
When the above dark grey jersey was released in November 2010, it already was flagged as close to straying into New Zealand territory, so the actual donning of black will have rugby purists crying foul, as it is traditionally a colour worn solely by the Kiwis - even if the phrase "All Blacks" was coined by an English Daily Mail correspondent, J.A. Buttery, in 1905. Not only that, but England really run the risk of being perceived as ungracious guests.
England vs. Fiji (white) in Sevens
The kit manufacturer Cotton Traders were the first to sell the England kit to the masses, and so besides altering the strip occasionally to maintain sales, they also saw the potential returns that could be made from creating a second strip, even though its use could be limited to as little as one game every couple of decades (i.e.: playing against Fiji at home). The decision was made that the alternate jersey would be blue, presumably because the team were already wearing blue socks as part of their kit.
A change to red for RWC 2007 got up the Welsh noses, while yet more controversy enshrouded the purple alternative kit launched in November 2009. Ironically this was one of the more logically reasoned colour choices, as from the 70s through to the 90s players who were selected for England at any level would receive a purple tracksuit.
Part of the controversy is due to the break in tradition. There is no reason the alternate jersey must be worn, apart from increasing revenue associated with sales of alternate merchandise. This is why purple England took on Argentina in 2009, why anthracite England took on Australia in 2010, and why black England are taking on Wales at home in a friendly before the start of RWC 2011.
The players apparently have not been consulted, yet no complaints have emanated from the English camp. Indeed, apparently all this was noted as potentially being a thorn in the side for the Kiwis, so much so that the RFU spoke to their NZRU counterparts, who indicated they have no objection. The recent relevations of the kit containing ancient Maori symbols and decorations seems to have been a step too far, with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key exclaiming:
I think it's a bunch of wannabes actually, there's only one team that wears black with pride, and that's the All Blacks
Regardless, under RWC rules each team must have an alternate "change" kit, and if England choose to dabble in black magic, so be it. Just how much of an Almost Black kit it is remains to be seen - it is released on August 1st - but there are rumours that England may elect to wear it throughout the group stages of the RWC. In such a case, and should both England and New Zealand both progress to the final, the fact that New Zealand technically are at home would set an interesting precedent, as under traditional rules New Zealand would have to change into their alternate kit, with the bizarre result of England being the All Blacks!
All they're missing now is a video congratulating themselves on winning the competition...
After much waiting, the results are in. Adidas have released a very classy collection of jerseys which are in keeping with the rumours and with supporters' wishes.
07-09 home jersey providing inspiration?
The home jersey will be worn for the first time against La Rochelle in a pre-season friendly in Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Friday August 12th. It is similar to many older jerseys, especially the 07-09 one (see right) while incorporating many nice touches. The return to the traditional Munster white shorts is dividing opinion, as many are accustomed to the navy shorts.
Whereas before Munster fans were left to deal with the cringeworthy faux-Munsterism of "Wear with Pride and Honesty", now the inside of the collar is embroidered with the Munster motto, "To the Brave and the Faithful, Nothing is Impossible" - a much appreciated improvement. Gone is the glossy embossed stag's antlers, instead replaced with four horizontal running bands made up of inscriptions of the six counties that make up Munster. It is worth also noticing that Munster Rugby decided that Munster don't need to advertise how good they are through the absence of two ERC stars (thus putting to bed the rumour of an ERC diktat whereby all former Heineken Cup winners must sport such a star).
The alternative jersey is one that is bound to raise some eyebrows. It comes as perhaps no surprise that Doug Howlett was chosen to model it, as one fears that typical Irish complexion would pale against its predominantly whitewashed colour. It too has the Munster motto on the inside of the collar. The navy/blue, yellow and green horizontal lines and red piping/logos represent the various county colours. It has been compared to both Stephen Roche's cycling top and Google:
Not content with stopping there, adidas designed two very different training jerseys. On the left is a very fetching navy jersey with gold trim, while on the right is a luminescent green jersey that cannot immediately be disregarded. I say this because perhaps adidas were cleverly thinking that those who think the new Ireland Puma RWC jersey is terrible might just wear this green top to Ireland games? Regardless, it evokes memories of not only Shrek, Slime from Ghostbusters, but also of the German football team's away jersey.
As the myth goes, the reason the German football team sport green as their away jersey is because after World War II, the Republic of Ireland were the first team to play them when many refused to, thus bringing them back into the international fold. This has proven to be false on numerous occasions (apparently Switzerland were the first to play them, plus the colour of the DFB/German FA's logo is green), but it still makes for a great story.
It's coming to that time of year again... Most rugby teams change their home jersey every two years, and their alternate every year. This provides a modest form of cashflow without making loyal supporters feel like their wallets are being fleeced every year. This year is a special one however, as the Rugby World Cup looms in New Zealand, so too do the qualified nations respective sponsor-free official player jerseys...
But first to domestic news. Ulster have taken on board Stade Francais' success with a visually arresting supporter's jersey as part of their newly released range, and tried to emulate the Parisian garishness with an equally popping comic book styled attempt:
2010-11 Stade Francais European jersey
Technically a supporters jersey for 2011-12 it takes its inspiration from the Marvel comic series, the jersey apparently "depicts the Ulster team on a mission". All logos are printed into the design during manufacture, except the embroidered Ulster logo and "The Ulstermen" logo on the collar.
Next up are Leinster, who have already unveiled their new design, complete with a pair of stars above the crest to signify their two Heineken Cup wins:
The shirt incorporates the Leinster/Ryanair harp in an angled fashion from front to back. To be fair, this is an amazing jersey, as the level of detail is astonishing. The trim on the shorts leaves a little to be desired, but particularly the shoulders stand out in their intricacies of design. Not only that, but the supporters have been rewarded with a cotton-style "classic" supporter's jersey. A third European jersey is on the way also, but with Rob Kearney "iffy" on it, will that mean another Stade Francais-inspired jersey? if the leaked photo below is anything to go by, there's "blue magic" all over it...
Home and alternate jerseys look well, but will the 3rd?
Could this be Leinster's 3rd European jersey?
As an aside, South Africa's RWC jersey is very interesting from a political standpoint:
For quite some time now the Protea has been the national emblem of South Africa. This is the reason why the Springbok was moved from the left to the right chest - to accommodate the Protea emblem. However due to RWC rules, the RWC logo took the place of the Springbok emblem, hence its circled position on the left arm - really pushed this issue to the side...
They're not the only ones doing it, France are trying to ruffle some feathers too with their RWC jerseys:
The home kit is a combination of both royal and dark blue, inspired by the jerseys worn by the French team for their two victories over the All Blacks in RWC1999 and RWC2007. Both feature the motif "France" on the inside of the shirts, a tricolour trim and a 3D grip zone on the chest to enhance ball grip. Considering the adversarial nature of New Zealand and France, it will be interesting to see if the French team have also designed their bibs and training tops accordingly - so that they might combat the haka once more with the French flag...
France's RWC 1999 jersey
France's RWC 2007 jersey
Before moving onto Ireland's jersey, let's take a quick look at some left field nations. USA have released an almost rising sun-esque third jersey. It is unclear whether it is intended to coincide with the release of this summer's blockbuster, "Captain America". Regardless, its base template is very similar to Leinster's third jersey, although it is unclear under what circumstances USA would actually need to don an actual 3rd jersey in the RWC:
Harlequins have continued their Irishness. First with their acquisition of Conor O'Shea's services, and now with the release of their first jersey in cooperation with Irish jersey designers O'Neills. It's a safe design, in keeping with what's expected, but visually appealing all the same:
Harlequins 2011-12 alternate jersey
Puma have released the Irish RWC 2011 jersey. It is receiving mixed reviews, most notably for its odd chest grip design... Apparently this control panel on the front of the home jersey is shaped like the columns of the basalt Giant's Causeway... Let's just hope that volcanic eruption doesn't come into play as much in the Irish players' case.
The dynamic look of the jersey is accentuated by its off centre placket (the button and collar segment), which is a direct reference to an original Ireland shirt image found within IRFU archives. The alternative jersey is very similar, except with a more modern styled collar. Much akin to the previous alternate jersey getting a run out for no reason against South Africa, history will be broken for the second time as Ireland will wear this alternate jersey against France in Bordeaux for the RWC warm up game on August 13th. In a break with tradition, there are training tops that are almost wine in colour, along with the more usual grey affair:
With the unusually warm summer that is beating down upon the Emerald Isle, it would be quite something to be confronted with beer bellied Heino chuggers waddling the streets in the official IRFU beater. To my mind this is the first time red has been used on an Irish jersey, I can only imagine there will be some die-hard Munster supporters who will wear it to an Ireland game, much as some Leinster supporters did with the training top on the right.
Speaking of Munster, three new designs are due to be released during a press conference on July 13th. Rumours are rife, with questions such as "Will those two stars be on every Heineken Cup winners' jerseys?" to "Will that stupid embossed stag be on it?". Well placed sources indicate that the antlers are gone from the back of the home jersey. The design is apparently a lot simpler than other years, with white shorts and no yellow piping as before. The adidas stripes are navy instead of white, while the collar and placket are thought to be red. Taking all this into account, it was thought that the home jersey might resemble the following:
2009 Lions jersey
Mock up
The alternate jersey is mainly white, with 6 horizontal hoops spaced 10cm apart. Each of these bands are 5mm in height, with a colour for each of the 6 counties of Munster. It remains to be seen whether the 3rd design is merely a training top or if Munster are embarking into 3rd European jersey territory. Munster Rugby however, appear to have mistakenly given us a sneak peek of the new Munster home 2011-13 jersey when they put up this photo earlier on this week:
New jersey leaked during promo for new Munster Schools Junior Cup?
If this massively official photo is to be taken at face value (it was quickly taken down from their website), it appears we have a fairly nice looking, modern yet in keeping with the past, Munster home jersey. Gone are the Santa shorts (which actually began to become quite inoffensive), instead we have clean white shorts. It's debatable whether a return to navy shorts would be in keeping with what most supporters seem to want, but the actual jersey itself looks solid. A nice touch is how the adidas three stripes start at the point of the shoulder, then gradually taper to behind the triceps. It has to be said, the navy collar does look great, as does the blended in adidas logo and Munster crest. All in all a nice looking prospect... Regardless, we won't have to wait long to see if they'll go Leinster's way and drag a big swooshing stag from stomach to back!
But remember people, at the end of the day, it's only a piece of fabric:
