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 Rugby Shirt Watch as we can’t help but analyse, scrutinise and spend an inordinate amount of cash any new rugby shirt that takes our fancy.
Super Rugby has always led the way in terms of stash. As a northern hemisphere kid in the 90’s I would always look on in awe at how cool some of the old Super 12 kits were, and training sessions at my club would always see a good variety of Sharks, Brumbies, Blues and Waratahs kits. Super Rugby was, and still is, the home of the coolest Rugby kits. So, without further ado, and offering absolutely zero use to your fantasy team, here’s our overview of who’s topping the table this year in the sartorial stakes (Also, if you are looking for place to buy rugby shirts, we have some of the finest online emporiums linked in here to cater to to your stash-related needs)…
Blues
In a nutshell: Same as last year, classic but innovative, Adidas have played an absolute blinder with both the home and away kits. One of the standout shirts in this year’s offering.
Where you can get it: Blues’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Brumbies
In a nutshell: They’ve switched manufacturuers to O’Neills, and this is a great retro effort harking back to the 90’s Super 12 classics
Where you can get it: Brumbies’ kits are available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Bulls
In a nutshell: A big improvement on last year, not quite up there with the classics, but a positive step. As with most of the new Superhero South Africa kits, the Captain America one off kit is generally pretty awesome.
Where you can get it: Bulls’ kits only seem to be currently available on the Official Bulls site
Chiefs
In a nutshell: Same as last year, and another great Adidas effort, with a subtle but intricate nod to the region’s cultural heritage
Where you can get it: Chiefs’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Crusaders
In a nutshell: Another kit on its second season, a bold and simple effort, maybe too overly red for the Crusaders purists but still looks great
Where you can get it: Crusaders’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Highlanders
In a nutshell: Like all NZ shirts, the same as last year. The best Highlanders kits for some time, simple and uncluttered with a subtle tartan motif on the home kit. Adidas can do no wrong.
Where you can get it: Highlanders’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Hurricanes
In a nutshell: Out of all the Adidas made NZ team kits, this is right up there with the outstanding Blues kits. As with the other Adidas NZ shirts, it is subtle and uncluttered and both the home and away shirts look great.
Where you can get it: Hurricanes’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Jaguares
In a nutshell: There are two things you can count on the Jaguares for, one is free flowing attacking rugby that throws all caution to the wind, and the other is a stunning set of kits. Once again they have some of the best kits in Super Rugby, although this year they have broken away from the minimalist look of recent years for a more adventurous look. Minimalist or not, the Jags always deliver. Well played Nike, as always.
Where you can get it: Jaguares’ kits are widely available in the usual places including here at Lovell Rugby
Lions
In a nutshell: The Lions have gone with a predominantly white shirt this year, another fine effort from Canterbury. Spiderman kit = Awesome.
Where you can get it: Lions’ kits are quite hard to find, but are available from Sportsmans Warehouse in South Africa.
Rebels
In a nutshell: The best Rebels home kit yet, albeit that bar was low. A bold and minimalist effort, for the Rebels colour palette, less appears to be more.
Where you can get it: Rebel’s shirts only seem to be available here at the Official BLK site
Reds
In a nutshell: Made by new supplier Dynasty Sport, this is simple and classy effort using the classic maroon colour with a strong contemporary look.
Reds’ kits seem to currently only be available here on the Official Reds site
Sharks
In a nutshell: Canterbury continue to knock out some stunning kits for a side famed for classic Super Rugby kits. All three are top notch and up there with the best of this year’s Super Rugby crop.
Where you can get it: Sharks’ kits seem to only be available on the Official Cell C Sharks shop.
Stormers
In a nutshell: After taking the design and manufacture of their kits in house last year. The Stormers have now enlisted the help of BLK to produce this year’s kits. Hoops make a welcome return on a classic looking kit and their superhero kit is probably the best of the lot.
Where you can get it: Stormers’ kits only seem to be currently available at the Official Stormers BLK site
Sunwolves
In a nutshell: The Sunwolves have produced their boldest effort for a number of years for their new kit in a huge year for the Japanese game. A bold red design implementing a collar, with a WWW motif (“Wolves Win Worldwide” in case you were wondering – wishful thinking perhaps…). Great looking kit.
Where you can get it: Sunwolves kits are pretty hard to hunt down, the only place we could find them is on the official Sunwolves site.
Waratahs
In a nutshell: The Tahs have returned to a simple and clean looking sky blue home shirt. It’s classic and probably Canterbury’s best shirt in this year’s Super Rugby.
Where you can get it: Waratahs’ 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 2019 Super Rugby season!
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If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all this year’s Six Nations fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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