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Blackleaf

Red is the new black for England

15th May 2007
Daily Mail

England rugby fans will be seeing red this year - for their stunning new away kit for the 2007/08 season is something of a departure from the traditional blue and white.

Lightweight, tighter, durable and visually striking, the new home and away kit is designed to give the team every possible advantage, helping the players meet the varying physical demands of the game in their individual positions.

Kit of all right: David Strettle and Shaun Perry model the new home and away England rugby kit.

Visually, the new kit is strikingly different; incorporating an asymmetric sash at a diagonal running across the front of the jersey and shorts, with a small St. George’s cross on the left sleeve. A new red away jersey is also being introduced for the first time. Tight fitting rugby apparel was introduced by Nike in 2003 to reduce the opportunity to be tackled via the shirt.

Through Nike’s research, this season sees a further reduction in garment measurements that makes it even more difficult for an opponent to grab a player’s shirt. The reduction in the number of panels used to make the jersey also aiding comfort through reduced seams.

Red, white and new: Wilkinson unveils England’s latest strip at Twickenham on Tuesday

The new shirt also features an extensively tested rubberised gripper print for players on the torso, when they are carrying a wet ball and on the shoulders, when locking into the scrum.

The shorts and socks have been developed to improve comfort and moisture management for the full 80 minutes of the game.

Jim Allaker, General Manager, Nike UK & Ireland said: “These jerseys represent all that is special about England and our excellent rugby team. This bold, new innovative design will inspire both players and supporters alike in what will be an extremely exciting and hopefully successful season ahead for England rugby.”

Paul Vaughan, Commercial Director, RFU said: "England have previously worn blue shirts as their away strip but there has never been any historical rationale for doing so, so we asked Nike to come up with a new design and colour and the results are fantastic”.

The England team will wear the new home shirt in the Investec Challenge matches against Wales on August 4th, France on August 11th, and the new away red shirt against France in Marseilles on August 18th.

dailymail.co.uk

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Black Sabbath - 1970

Cymro · Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 9:52 pm Post subject:

The English Rugby team have done no more than sell tradition in order to make a quick buck from the English Rugby fans. England have only ever worn white in rugby, they have thrown this out of the window because they want to get more money out of their fans. They will also force Wales to not wear red as a result of this if they clash in the Quarter Finals of the Rugby World Cup.

But, hey Blackleaf is happy. Tradition not mean anything for you then?