After a hiatus with Puma, Ireland returned to wearing Canterbury kits in 2014 and the result was a lot smarter in our view. Bar what Canterbury call 'ball-deadening grip' around their logo and the IRFU crest, the kits are nice and clean and the return of a kind-of collar is to be welcomed. The horizontal pinstripes on the alternative shirt and socks harked back to the hoops worn by Ireland in the country's first international, against England in 1875.
Ireland's new jerseys for the Rugby World Cup employ an updated Canterbury cut, similar to that used by England. Changes from the kit launched in September 2014 saw the collar dispensed with, while a diamond pattern replaced the mini 'shamrocks' on the chest. The RWC doesn't allow shirt sponsorship apart from the manufacturer's logo, which is moved to the middle to accommodate the competition logo.
The change kit is black, as in 2012. It's not bad but it looks like a training shirt and - more importantly, in our view - isn't a great choice in terms of functionality. South Africa are the only opposition where Ireland would have to change colours and, as the 2012 test showed, black and dark green are not easy to distinguish.
