Matthew Rees, Jamie Roberts, Dan Lydiate and Paul James model the new home and away Wales shirts. - Huw Evans Picture Agency
The Welsh Rugby Union today unveiled its revolutionary new 2011 Rugby World Cup home and away kits.
The home kit is predominantly red, with white shorts and white flashes on the shirt and socks, and the away kit, which will be worn for the first time in one of Wales summer warm-up matches this August, as well as in New Zealand in September, is predominantly black with red flashes.
However, the look of the new kit is only half of the story. Kit manufacturers Under Armour have patented a new military grade fabric, which includes AmourGrid and ArmourGrip technology. The gear is said to be the most technologically advanced on the market and is designed to give Wales’ rugby stars every edge possible at RWC time. Also, for the first time, the new RWC kit from the WRU will be worn beyond the tournament – without the RWC logo – and into the following two seasons giving it the longest shelf-life, and greater value, of any previous World Cup jersey.
WRU Group Head of Commercial Craig Maxwell said: “The technological advancements made by Under Armour with this jersey are staggering and have to be seen to be believed and we are all very excited now as we wait to see it in action against England and Argentina at the Millennium Stadium this summer. The black away jersey will be incredibly popular and will look great on fans travelling to the home of the All Blacks for the RWC in New Zealand a return to an almost entirely red strip is also expected to be appreciated by fans.”
Blair Tripodi, Managing Director/ General Manager EMEA – Under Armour, said: The important thing to note is that this concept is revolutionary not evolutionary. We are looking to change the industry when it comes to the approach for building rugby uniforms. We didn’t stop after making the jersey and short, this new Wales RWC kit offers a complete story of innovation from head to toe.”
The new Wales 2011 RWC kit is now available on pre-order from www.wru.co.uk. It will officially be revealed in a shop near you from, 1 July 2011. Prices range from £29.99 through to £84.99 depending on size and style. These range from 0-6 through to XXL and are available in long sleeve, short sleeve, replica and authentic.
“This kit is going to be a unique product on the world market and the patented designs from Under Armour have taken the science behind producing elite sports clothing to a whole new level,”added WRU Group head of marketing Craig Maxwell. “We think the design is something to behold and for the first time this world cup kit will be worn both before and long after the tournament has finished – obviously without the RWC logo – meaning it also has increased value for our fans who can wear it right into the 2012/2013 season and remain bang up to date.”
The Technical Story
The new Wales Rugby World Cup kit, produced by Under Armour, will be the most technologically advanced kit on display at the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament in New Zealand this Autumn. The Wales squad will be kitted out in revolutionary new jerseys made from military grade fabric (Cordura), featuring new ‘ArmourGrid’ technology which gives extreme strength, durability and freedom of movement and ‘ArmourGrip’ which offers increased ball control.
The specialist source fabric has a long history of military use and is also found in motorcycle jackets. It has been uniquely engineered by Under Armour to provide a ‘no-grab’ jersey and short which is both lightweight and mapped to the athlete’s body to give maximum mobility.
Body mapping of the kit means that certain areas, around the inner arms and side panels allow for extra flexibility required for freedom of movement whilst retaining extreme fabric strength in other areas and offering minimum absorption of water or sweat.
The technology doesn’t stop with the jersey and shorts, the socks feature mapped compression insets to provide anatomical support to key performance areas, such as the calves, and an embedded arch support to reduce foot fatigue.
The socks also boast ArmourBlock technology to assist in the prevention of odour causing bacteria and strategic ventilation to wick moisture and accelerate evaporation.
To find out more check out the WRU facebook page…