There's something eerily similar about the Wallabies' new jersey

The Wallabies unveiled their new playing jersey for the 2016 international season on Wednesday, and you'd be forgiven for experiencing a sense of deja vu upon catching a glimpse of the design.

The new strip looks remarkably similar to the one launched in 2014 - save for a few minor details. Two years ago the southern cross was on the left torso, now it sits on the back of the right shoulder, and there appears to be some new sticky material around the rib cage - possibly to help with ball security.

The virtual return to the 2014 design could be viewed as an admission the team - or rather, the sportswear manufacturer behind the design (ASICS) - got it completely wrong with the 2015 edition used in the World Cup.

The guernsey worn by Stephen Moore, Israel Folau and co en route to the final of last year's showpiece tournament copped a barrage of criticism when it was unveiled last June.

Plenty thought the gold was far too bright, harking back to the days when Australia's cricketers wore a garish "canary yellow", while there weren't many fans of the striped green pattern on the shoulder either.

"I could have drunk a case of pineapple cruisers and eaten a mid-2000s Australia one day shirt and vomited out something better. Disgraceful," said one fan on rugby site Green and Gold Rugby last year.

The jersey unveiled on Wednesday has done away with that green sleeve and gone back to a more traditional gold - not one that will burn the eyes of anyone who looks directly at it for too long.
They've also brought back the green collar - another feature evident in 2014 that was absent for the World Cup.
It's quite a significant change from what the players were wearing last year, to say the least.

The jersey unveiled for the 2007 World Cup was used until 2010 - so the ARU hierarchy clearly didn't have a problem with it, and the design for the next World Cup in New Zealand in 2011 was used again in 2012. So you've got to assume there wasn't much blowback there.

But the fact the Wallabies have changed tack after using their last uniform for only one tournament suggests they've realised the mistake they made in giving that design the go-ahead in the first place.

If at first you don't succeed, then try, try again. Or, as in this case, if you want to do less work, just go back to something you know has already worked and hope nobody notices. It's worth a shot.

Have a look below to go back in time and check out Wallabies jerseys over the years. Warning to anyone with taste: highly offensive content in 1997-98.