In the past, rugby uniforms were not the tight-hugging, muscle complementing apparels we see today. They were baggy, uni-colored and made more about the game and not the players. Through the years, things have changed, and here is a little history on how far the rugby jersey has come.
Early Rugby Apparel
If there is one word that could perfectly describe the early rugby uniforms, that word would be, horrendous! When rugby grew in prominence around the 18th century, emphasis was put more on the boots and not the clothes since the laws of that time didn’t mandate wearing of uniforms. Players modified their field boots adding deadly protruding nails, gutta perchas and iron plates. The game was played rough and the rule of thumb was to demobilize as many opponents as possible, which rendered so many promising players crippled.
After several broken ankles and bloodied shins, it became necessary to ban this practice, hence the re-birth of the rugby uniforms.
First Official Uniform
It was around 1839 when the first official uniform was introduced for the School House team at the Rugby School. The players were at liberty to wear whatever colors they wanted when playing local games or games in which the Queen of UK was not attending. When the presence of royalty was in the audience, the players wore full white shirts and trousers adding red velvet caps as a sign of respect to the royal family. The School Cap was later to be used as a symbol of distinction for those individuals who were privilege to play for the school team or the country’s national rugby team.
Much later in the 19th century, the subject of player protection came to mind which saw the introduction of the scrum caps. These scram caps were designed for the 2nd row forward players who need more ear-head protection from everyone else. Still, the rugby uniforms had the potential to improve from the loose fitting garments that were nowhere near attractive.
Present Day Rugby Jerseys
Today, rugby is all about speed and power, thus the jerseys have been modified to accommodate this in a player. The lose fitting cotton is a thing of the past and now rugby players are looking lean, mean with a dose of eye-candy in their redesigned garments. The long ill-fitting trousers were replaced by thigh reaching shorts to accentuate the quadriceps and the hamstrings. The rugby shirts have become tighter as well, bringing out the players buffed chest and rock-hard biceps. Because the bodies became bigger and stronger, the ram caps were redesigned with extra cushioning to prevent severe damage when bodies collide.
The rugby uniforms have come a long way, from the loose unattractive versions of the past to the now fitting and suave jerseys. Some accessories like the nail studs had to be scraped off for safety purposes.
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