Players voiced concerns over playing on their period in traditional white
Ireland Women have changed their traditional white shorts for navy to ease players’ anxieties around playing on their period.
The permanent moves comes into force from 15 March when captain Nichola Fryday will model the new shorts at the TikTok Women’s Six Nations launch in London.
The shorts will first see some match action in Ireland’s opening Women’s Six Nations game away against Wales on Saturday 25 March.
Read more: Ireland Women’s Six Nations squad 2023
The move is a joint venture between kit provider Canterbury and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) in response to receiving feedback from international players about their period anxieties.
Ireland Women have traditionally worn white shorts with their green shirt (Getty Images)
Why are Ireland Women changing their shorts?
Ireland centre Enya Breen insisted the small change is a big step and will help the side to perform at their best by removing any unnecessary distractions.
She said: “The top way to ensure we perform to our best on the field is by removing any unnecessary distractions. Wearing navy shorts instead of white is such a small thing, but for us it’s a big step from Canterbury and the IRFU.
“Our hope is that it will help women at all levels of rugby feel more comfortable on the field so they can get on with performing at their best in the game that they love.”
How to get a free pair of Canterbury rugby shorts
Canterbury is offering a free pair of rugby shorts in a different colour to anyone who has purchased a pair of white women’s shorts in the last three years.
The deal applies to teams and players at all levels and can be accessed via Canterbury.
The move away from women wearing white shorts has been seen in other sports with Wimbledon tweaking their all-white dress code to allow women to wear dark undershorts on the famous SW19 tennis courts.
Football team West Brom made a similar move to Ireland in September, switching the colour of their shorts from white to navy. The issue was also brought to attention by England’s Lionesses during their run to European Championship glory.
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