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Home / Sport

The worst rugby jerseys of all time

NZ Herald
11 Aug, 2017 05:03 AM2 mins to read

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The Springboks' red jerseys.

The Springboks' red jerseys.

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The Springboks' new one-off red jersey to take on Argentina has already received some hostile reaction.

While a bold choice, it doesn't quite crack the list of the worst jerseys of all time. Here's some of the best of the worst from the Herald archives.

1) The court jesters

Perpignan's attemped checkers design could have looked classy, but ended up looking more like the class clown with their jester-inspired design.

Perpignan's jersey. Photo / Getty
Perpignan's jersey. Photo / Getty
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2) England designers at sixes and sevens

English fans were blinded by designs for the sevens jerseys a couple of years ago that one newspaper described as "a psychedelic strip that resembles a 1980s arcade game". In one of the great moments in jersey design, rugby officials reckoned pixelation had been used to "portray the DNA of the rose".

English fans were blinded by designs for the sevens jerseys. Photo / Twitter.
English fans were blinded by designs for the sevens jerseys. Photo / Twitter.

3) Fitzy spews

Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons, a former test forward, this week recalled getting an early peek at a new Wallaby jersey in 1997. He was immediately inspired to pen a column describing it as looking like "volcano vomit" amongst other things.

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The 1997 Wallabies shirt.
The 1997 Wallabies shirt.

4) Not All Blacks

The All Blacks used a weird grey and black number to avoid a clash with France in THAT 2007 World Cup quarter final in Cardiff. The jerseys looked like the work of the people involve in creating New Zealand cricket one-day uniforms. At least that famous loss meant the jersey has never been seen again.

The 2007 All Blacks jersey.
The 2007 All Blacks jersey.

5) Brace yourself

Supporters of Austrian rugby - yes there is such a thing apparently - came up with a jersey design that included boring brown braces.

Discover more

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10 Aug 05:36 AM
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Braces anyone?
Braces anyone?

6) Stade but never staid

Stade Francais are the kings of weird rugby jersey designs. A typical effort came in 2008 which featured faces of Parisienne 13th-century heroine Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII, in a multi-coloured design "in the fashion of Andy Warhol".

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