It’s Six Nations time! Here at Fantasy Rugby Geek, living up to our name as Rugby Geeks, we have a bit of an obsession… with stash. We know we’re not the only ones, and we’re in good company along with the good stash-loving folks at The Eggchasers Rugby Podcast and the magnificent Rugby Shirt Watch (which is a must follow for anyone stash-inclined) as we can’t help but analyse, scrutinise and spend an inordinate amount of cash any new rugby shirt that takes our fancy.
So, without further ado, and offering absolutely zero use to your fantasy team, here’s our overview of who is leading the way in the international rugby sartorial stakes ahead of the Natwest Six Nations, and if any of these kits take your fancy, then head to Lovell Rugby who are offering some brilliant details on international and club kits! Get involved!
England
England’s home shirts are one of those jerseys that it is traditionally very hard to be creative with, and Canterbury have been very conscious of this since they became England’s kit supplier in 2012. This year’s home shirt is probably the most creative of the Canterbury England shirts, with a faded black effect at the bottom of the sleeves. It has divided opinion, but at Fantasy Rugby Geek we are fans. The alternative kit always allows the designers a bit more creative licence, and this years alternative effort takes the home shirt template but integrates a black torso with faded red sleeves and some red detailing around the collar. A very solid effort from the kings of stash at Canterbury.
England’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
France
Adidas have produced some stunners for France in recent years and both the home and alternative shirts this year are exquisite. The home shirt is back to a classic royal blue after recent navy blue efforts with the vertical three stripes on the shoulders and a what can only be described as an Overlook Hotel carpet style pattern on the shirt (help me here fans of The Shining!); whatever the pattern is, regardless, it looks awesome. The alternative is a thing of beauty; a white shirt with the horizontal stripes but also integrates some glorious rugby league style chevrons across the chest. Truly outstanding, bravo Adidas.
France’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Ireland
Ireland’s new home shirt is a classic emerald green shirt with dark green sleeves and a raised collar with white detailing; it’s uncomplicated, effective and traditional. The away shirt is a bit more creative with the introduction of camo sleeves, a dark grey body and a bright green detailing on the collar. It’s a great looking shirt, once again Canterbury have brought home the goods.
Ireland’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Italy
Italy’s kit supplier Macron don’t have a huge Rugby heritage and the new Italy shirts, whilst pleasant enough, are a long way from their Kappa and Adidas heyday. Both shirts don’t veer far from traditions with a royal blue shirt with gold detailing and the alternative following the home template but switching blue for white. It’s solid but uninspiring and a far cry from some of the past Italian classics.
Italy’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Scotland
Scotland have had some great kits in recent years, but this years effort sadly falls short. The previous years polo shirt style collar is replaced by more of a grandad style collar, and the body follows a similar template to the Italian Macron shirts, also including purple and white hoops around the sleeves. The away shirt follows a similar format, primarily white with a purple chest area. All in all a bit disappointing compared to recent Scottish shirts.
Scotland’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Huge Rugby and here at Lovell Rugby
Wales
Having had two years of the “Zapp Brannigan” shirt…
As well as doubling as an OS map for orienteering, the new Wales stash is a vast improvement on the previous monstrosity.
Before v after: pic.twitter.com/VGVCSTFadb
— Tim Cocker (@cocker) October 18, 2017
…Wales have wisely returned to a traditional plain red shirt and it is a vast improvement. Classic scarlet red with darker red collar and detailing on the sleeves. A long overdue return to form. Wales’ new away shirt is another simplistic and restrained affair, dark grey (Anthracite to be exact!) with red detailing on the collar and sleeves. Under Armour have played a blinder here.
Wales’s kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
So there you go, it certainly won’t help your fantasy team, and we won’t take it personally if you completely disagree with our assessment, but that is the Fantasy Rugby Geek’s stash review of the 2018 Natwest Six Nations!
One more thing…
We can’t let you get away without mentioning that Fantasy Rugby Geek has its own selection of stash. So please head over to our Merch section to check out our range of Trucker Hats, Mugs, Polo Shirts and more…
It’s you buying bits like this that helps support us and keep Fantasy Rugby Geek up and running, so your support no matter how small is hugely appreciated.
Alternatively if you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Six Nations glory and win you some of this stash while you are at it, then join our Natwest Six Nations leagues at SuperBru and ESPN Scrum, where a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat will be on offer for the winners of each league.
To join the Superbru league simply go here, and if you are asked, enter the Pool name Fantasy Rugby Geek and Pool code pegstrap.
To join the ESPN Scrum league, simply go here, create your team, go to Leagues, select ‘Join League’ and enter the league League Password: 1304606-52973
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