2019 Super Rugby Jersey Rankings

At the start of any new season, team jerseys are always a hot topic around the Ladbrokes office, some old, some new, some great, some bad and some that really leave you scratching your head. I firmly believe that any jersey should be in use for a minimum of two seasons either as a home or alternate strip. Although a few of my teams have gone through some I’m glad I only had to put up with 12 months of.

In a sport so focused on tradition, such as rugby union, there isn’t a lot of room for variation when it comes to colour choices and patterns. But as we approach the beginning of the 2019 Super Rugby campaign we get to go through our annual exercise of which teams will look good as they take to the field over the next six or so months. Much like last season’s hotly debated rankings, we are going to give you the good, the bad and the really bad of the rugby franchises.

For the most part these rankings will be weighted heavily towards the home jersey, since that’s what most people tend to identify with although if the away or alternate is worth considering we’ll throw it in there too. While some teams are opting to stick with their jerseys from last year, it is worth noting that opinions, much like odds, can change over time, so just because we liked something last year, there’s no guarantee it will get the same treatment this time around. Anyway, without further ado, let’s get on with this.

The Bad

BLUES

Last Season: Bad

Most of the New Zealand franchises have opted to stick with the designs brought out last season and in the interests of consistency, the Blues are going to receive the same grade. Actually that darker away jersey isn’t too bad but that home jersey just doesn’t look nice at all.

 

BULLS

Last Season: Bad

What on earth is going on with the Bulls designers? Last season’s atrocity included the year on it this one… well it’s a bizarre two-tone mix that apparently has a “Bulls Armour” graphic across the front. In all fairness, it is a step up on last season and the contrast on the away jersey does look better but since we did say in the introduction we were weighting the home jerseys heavily… well we feel confident

 

REBELS

Last Season: Boring

Were the Rebels a team with a slightly longer history, then a plain, basic jersey could be sold as traditional. Instead, one of the newer additions to Super Rugby will have to let their play provide the excitement because those jerseys are just bland.

 

 

SUNWOLVES

Last Season: Boring 

First things first, the red on the Sunwolves jersey looks really, really nice. The problem is if you take off the logo and sponsor, it looks like just another polo shirt. It’s probably not the intention of the design but having three W’s on the front is also possibly representative of the number of games the Sunwovles are expecting to win in 2019.

 

 

The Middle

BRUMBIES

Last Season: Boring

A new supplier for the Brumbies and their first season with O’Neills has produced a set of jerseys that are… almost spectacular. The stripes on the all blue jersey are phenomenal and you can’t beat the Brumbies classic look on the other jersey. So why is this not ranked higher? Well we love a good sponsorship but the positioning of the Plus 500 logo on both shirts is really distracting and could have been a bit lower to showcase the three bar look instead of covering it up.

 

CRUSADERS

Last Season: Good

Get used to this Crusaders jersey, we’ll be seeing a lot of it this season come finals time. It’s the same style as last season so they do get bonus points but in all honesty, it’s getting moved down because I’m sick of seeing them belt pretty much every other opponent. Is it a nice jersey? Absolutely! Is it being moved down for largely petty reasons? You bet.

 

LIONS

Last Season: Bad

The three time runners up will be hoping a jersey change will improve their fortunes in the decided (should they reach that far). This season’s design is a step up from last year but it still just isn’t quite… good. As for their Marvel kit, we’ve seen Spider Man done before, why not honour Hawkeye?

 

 

The Good

CHIEFS

Last Season: Middle

One of my favourites from last year, the Chiefs are, like pretty much every New Zealand side, recycling last year’s jersey and why would you change what works?

 

HIGHLANDERS

Last Season: Good

Last year we called this the best of the New Zealand designs and… well it still is.

HURRICANES

Last Season: Good

The Hurricanes are recycling a great uniform from last year so why not recycle what we wrote about them in 2018. “After popping up with one of the worst uniforms in the competition last season [2017], the Hurricanes have taken a huge step forward with this season’s offering. They have opted for a single base colour rather than trying to mash together yellow and black while finding a much better way to incorporate the “wind stripes” as well. As for their away uniform, in a word, class.”

 

 

JAGUARES

Last Season: Boring

What’s this? A bit of life in the Jaguares strip? Well knock me down with a feather! The foliage look on the shoulders of the black jersey is superb and even though it is orange, that away jersey would look good on even the most loosehead of props.

 

REDS

Last Season: Good

The Reds returning to their maroon strip is the best news to come out of Queensland and possibly Australian rugby in the last nine months. This actually came close to topping the pile but didn’t quite get there.

 

STORMERS

Last Season: Middle

BLK’s first up effort for the South African side is excellent and could very easily have been the best of the South African sides… were it not for one other team. Their home, away and Thor-style Marvel kits are all very, very nice.

 

WARATAHS

Last Season: Middle

Much like their Queensland counterparts, the Waratahs are going traditional this year and have upgraded their white away jersey with a pattern I feel like I shouldn’t like but it is kind of appealing.

 

 

The Best

SHARKS

Last Season: Good

The reigning champions of the Super Rugby jersey stakes take it out for another year with a superb home and away combination. But what really makes their 2019 jerseys is the spectacular Black Panther themed third jersey.