British & Irish Lions2017Jersey
Irish Lions rugby jersey For 2017
IN 2021, THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS FACE REIGNING WORLD CHAMPIONS, SOUTH AFRICA
The British & Irish Lions kit is one of the most iconic in world sport. With a history dating back to 1888 and the first official tour in 1910, The Lions are a team steeped in rugby history.
Pulling on the "untouchable" shirt is the dream of every rugby player - to be a Lions you have to be the best of the best. In his now famous 1997 address to The Lions forwards, coach Jim Telfer summed-up the challenge succinctly; "this is your Everest, boys".
The red jersey that were worn by the British & Irish Lions players in the Tour.
The campaign is built on the ‘untouchable’ theme and no player would touch the shirt until they have earned a call up to the Lions’ squad.
The match jersey includes the latest features, including the introduction of water resistant technology for the winter conditions they can expect. Fans will also benefit from many of the new features across the pro and classic replica versions of the jersey, according to Canterbury.
The pro jersey features Vaposhield technology and the same styling as the match jersey worn by the players but cut with a straighter fit, while the classic version incorporates Vapodri technology and a relaxed fit.
An identical version of the match jersey worn by the players in New Zealand will be made available in 2017 as a bespoke piece of sporting memorabilia to keep as a collector's item.
After breaking the seal and cracking the press seal, pulling the jersey out feels like a bit of an event, and from the first touch you can feel the difference in the material between the Elite and Pro jerseys.
The Pro shirt has a Vaposhield water-resistant coating on the shoulders and sleeves, giving a subtly different feel to the body, while the fabric itself feels stretchy and more malleable, yet stronger with it. In every way it feels like a shirt that’s ready for punishment.
As you might expect from a shirt that’s build to withstand test-match conditions, the cut is also a lot tighter and more fitted than the supporter's jersey – it's designed to be pretty much skin tight, and hug the body tightly, and it does that well, without feeling too restrictive.
Visually, the jersey is of course basically identical to the Pro design, but there's one notable difference that also happens to be one of the coolest design features we’ve seen on any shirt ever.
We mentioned that the sleeves and shoulders are Vaposhield-treated for water resistance, and to emphasise this, rather than have an embossed lion motif, as with the Pro shirt, this one has a secret, invisible Lion that only appears when the area comes into contact with water.
We’re not entirely sure how Canterbury did it, but as a subtle yet theatrical touch, it's pretty spectacular – call us easily pleased, but there’s something very cool, very secret-agent-y about hidden logos that only get revealed when you splash a bit of water on them!
Perhaps the most notable and visible difference between the supporter jersey is in the collar, where Canterbury has clearly gone to great lengths to ensure that the unique ‘wingtip’ design can handle the rigours of test rugby.
So, where the Pro shirt had an elasticated placket, here we have a bonded, solid placket that holds the loop collar in place, while the tips of the collar have also been stitched into place for strength and to stop them being grabbed in the tackle.
Around the back on the other hand, where we had a tiny fold-over collar on the Pro jersey, the Elite version has an elasticated insert with the Lion logo on it – adding strength while also allowing a bit of give should an opposition player catch onto it.
Conclusions
For the casual fan, there's very little visual difference between the Pro and Elite versions of the Lions jersey, and for £29 it’s hardly a budget purchase.
The Elite jersey feels like an event, it feels like something special – from the packaging to the attention to detail, you feel like you’re holding not just a replica rugby shirt, but a tool that’s been designed and tested to cope with the demands of the most brutal and physical sporting environment imaginable. Sam Warburton and his players are going to need it.
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