Rating the new jerseys in Welsh Rugby
As we draw closer to the new United Rugby Championship season, the 4 pro-Welsh sides have released their latest kit offerings. With jerseys from the Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets all on sale now, the team at Catch 22 Rugby give you their thoughts on the latest home jerseys.
Cardiff Rugby - 8/10
After ditching their “Blues” identity last year, Cardiff have doubled down on the historical Black and Blue that defined them for the decades prior to professionalism. While last seasons third kit could have arguably been one of the best Cardiff kits in a generation, this year has seen them ditch the white collar and reduce the amount of stripes (a throwback to their European adventures in the 90s). A downgrade on last years third kit - but still a very nice design that Macron should be proud to showcase.
The best kit in Wales this year.
Dragons RFC - 6/10
The summer of 2022 saw great changes for the team based at Rodney Parade… not only did the former Newport-Gwent Dragons undergo a significant squad restructure; the name, brand and imagery all went out with the old Dragon symbolism. An opportunity to underline the big changes happening with the Dragons RFC rebrand, this kit falls short of that - probably not helped by the high quality of their previous VX3 kits over the past few years.
Worth noting - their blackout training range deserves a 10/10 alone!
Ospreys - 7/10
As Umbro enter their second year with the Ospreys, their second season offering falls to second place. While the Ospreylians turned heads with their all-black offering last year, the 2022-23 jersey appears similar… but lacking in comparison. Some nice points have to be mentioned - the copper trim is a nice nod to the region’s history as a copper industrial powerhouse, alongside the inclusion of the 4 coloured dots (representing the feeder sides of Aberavon, Bridgend, Neath and Swansea). But a semi-distorted Ospreys mask blended into the background takes a few points away for being nothing more than an annoying watermark.
Absolutely knocked it out the park with their kit release video!
Scarlets - 5/10
It’s not awful… it is however, the worst in Wales (in this writer’s opinion). The Scarlets new deal with Castore certainly drummed up excitement and, in fairness, Castore have produced one of the best kits in World Rugby this year… unfortunately that kit belongs to Saracens as it seems the Scarlets were left with the after-thoughts of the design team. The collar and white trim does have potential but, just like the Ospreys, it’s the background pattern that lets them down. Supposedly inspired by the architecture of Parc Y Scarlets, it looks more barcode than brilliant.
Then again, they signed Vaea Fifita this summer… so I think Scarlets fans can forgive the kit for now!
