Each team's greatest playing jerseys in World Cup history
The advent of a World Cup every four years not only captures the imaginations of rugby fans around the globe, but it also provides the globe’s rugby faithful with a chance to see a special new kit design for every one of the 20 nations involved.
The tournament allows teams to embrace and express their cultures and flaunt it on the biggest stage within the sport through the design of their playing jerseys, which are seen by the millions upon millions of spectators worldwide.
In an event which brings that much exposure, which is more often than not plenty more airtime than what most participating teams are used to, it makes these special World Cup jersey designs vital for unions looking to expand or establish their brands around the globe.
Consequently, fans have been treated to some spectacular jerseys over the years, with the eight previous World Cups giving teams ample chances to express and represent their country’s cultures through what they are wearing on the park.
With this year’s World Cup in Japan nearing kick-off, most teams have already released what they will be wearing in the Far East in two months’ time, with many designs catching the eye.
The same can be said since the debut World Cup tournament in 1987, which got us here at RugbyPass thinking as to which World Cup jersey has been the best for each side competing at this year’s edition of the global showpiece event.
So, here is a presentation of the best jerseys worn over the last 32 years of World Cup rugby by the 20 teams set to compete in Japan later this year.
Argentina
It’s hard to go wrong with the baby blue and white hoops for Los Pumas, but Adidas’ adaptation of the iconic jersey in 2007 was particularly striking as Argentina went on to stun the world by finishing in third place, toppling hosts France twice in the process and gaining recognition as a genuine powerhouse of world rugby.
Australia
This Reebok jersey, with the dark green sleeves and the Southern Cross over the World Cup logo on the chest, is symbolic of Australia’s period of dominance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a time where they won the 1999 World Cup, and finish runners-up in 2003. That dominance is now a distant memory, and Wallabies fans can only reminisce on that golden era when this jersey instilled fear and intimidation into Australia’s opposition.
Canada
By far Canada’s most colourful World Cup jersey ever. Only the classic 1991 jersey, which they wore in their sole World Cup quarter-final appearance against the All Blacks, could challenge this rainbow-coloured maple leaf-laden jersey, but the flair of the 1995 jumper edges the simplistic yet effective kit from four years earlier.
England
As long as England are wearing white, then there should be no issues, but similarly to Australia, their 2003 jersey is representative of a time when they were on top of the world. The famous Jonny Wilkinson drop goal that sunk the Wallabies in the last minute of extra-time in that year’s final is the greatest moment in English rugby history, and so the Nike-manufactured all-white jersey with a red trim under the arm and down the rib cage that he wore should really be considered the best they’ve ever had.
Fiji
As time has gone on and the design and development of jerseys has evolved, the more appealing jerseys from Pacific nations have become. Fiji, for example, have implemented cultural designs on their white and black jerseys in recent World Cups, and ISC’s version of their 2019 World Cup jersey is a stunning one, with plenty of intricate patterns down the sides, across the shoulders and on the sleeves.
France
France’s jerseys for both this year’s World Cup and the 2015 tournament both had potential to take the cake, but Adidas’ take on their 1987 kit is a classic that is difficult to go past. With red, white and blue stripes lining the long sleeves, an enlarged, old-school French rugby logo on one side of the chest, and the classic Adidas logo on the other side, it makes for an iconic Les Bleus jumper.
Georgia
A drastic change in kit colours came after their debut tournament in 2003 saw them don a hideous purple and black combination, but Georgia have vastly improved their kit designs since then. With a red and white colour scheme to work with now, their 2011 KooGa jerseys are probably the pick of the bunch, due to how simple but sleek it looked.
Ireland
After going through all of Ireland’s World Cup kits since 1987, there was barely much change at all until the 2007 tournament, with green being the primary colour with a hint of white to accompany a big pop-up collar. Although the colour scheme has remained exactly the same, the way of which it has been used has been altered slightly over the past decade or so, and their 2011 Puma jerseys are probably the best example of that.
Italy
There hadn’t been a whole lot to rave about Italy’s World Cup kits until Adidas unleashed a beautiful design for their 2015 campaign. Sticking with their traditional sky blue jumpers, Adidas added slender diagonal stripes with a grey collar, while their navy blue shorts complemented the top half of their kit nicely.
Japan
Like Argentina, it’s difficult to go wrong with Japan’s standard red and white hoops, although Canterbury haven’t done the best of jobs with a bizarre kit for their home tournament this year. The same can’t be said for their 2011 jerseys, with the number of white hoops restricted to just two across the torso. The rest of the jersey was predominantly red, aside from a few white lines encompassing the shoulders and under the hoops, and a white trip under the armpits.
Namibia
After a few horrid kits that were evident throughout the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, Namibia arrived at the 2011 tournament with a far better all-blue design provided by Puma. The change in appearance didn’t help the African minnows though, as they are still on the search for their first-ever win at a World Cup.
New Zealand
Given their name, as long as the All Blacks’ jersey is mainly black, then everything is in order for the Kiwis. However, Adidas went a step further in 2015, creating the ‘blackest jersey ever’ by shading in the normally-white All Blacks and Adidas logos on the chest, giving the New Zealanders a clean, crisp look. The 2019 jersey could have also challenged for this title had the collar made it not look like a t-shirt.
Russia
It’s slim pickings for Russia, who have only appeared at one other World Cup aside from this upcoming one in Japan. Their last outing on the global stage was eight years ago in New Zealand, when they sported an all-red look by Canterbury, with a white trim across the torso, down the sides and around the back of the neck.
Samoa
This is breaking the rules slightly as the jersey pictured above was Samoa’s away jersey for the 2015 tournament. However, it is by far the most eye-catching and wonderfully designed jersey they have ever worn at a World Cup, with the Pasifika designs on the sleeves and at the front of the jersey going a long way to making it one of BLK’s more memorable jumpers.
Scotland
Apart from their 2007 and 2011 home jerseys and 1999 away jersey, Scotland have produced many aesthetic navy blue jerseys, and none have been better to look at than what they wore in 2015. Macron took an old-school approach by bring back the pop-up collar, and the tartan down the sides was a classy edition. The 2003 kit was also a nice take on a classic design.
South Africa
The Springboks have had a difficult time emulating the fabulous jerseys produced for World Cups in the mid to late 1990s, with the kit worn in their debut home tournament in 1995 by far the best that has ever been worn by the South Africans. The old Springboks logo was accompanied by a gold pop-up collar, giving Francois Pienaar an iconic look as he famously received the Webb Ellis Cup from Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park for South Africa’s first-ever title.
Tonga
Like Fiji and Samoa, the evolution of jersey designs has seen the incorporation of cultural patterns become a significant feature on Tonga’s playing kit in the modern era, and that was best done by KooGa at the 2007 tournament. Both sleeves were heavily engulfed with traditional Tongan designs, giving them a distinct look as they pushed England and South Africa to the limit in France.
United States
BLK mixed things up a lot for the USA at the 2015 tournament, as the Eagles had previously played in either white or red kits at World Cups. However, they wore a dark blue strip with thin red and white strips across the torso and along the sleeves, which contrasted well to give them their most compelling jersey to date.
Uruguay
Uruguay have only played in three World Cups, but they sported a nice light blue jumper in their second appearance at the 2003 tournament. A black trim around and underneath the shoulders and on the edge of their sleeves was subtle yet not underwhelming, which added value to their overall look.
Wales
Although it was their worst showing at a World Cup of all-time, Wales’ all-red jersey with minimal white trip from 2007 was a reinvention of their famous jumper. The only white that featured was what appeared around the back of the neck, and although the players and coaches themselves underperformed in France, jersey manufacturer Reebok certainly stepped up to the plate.
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Comments on RugbyPass
best news and very helpful
4 Go to commentsA year ago Ireland and France looked impressive. In this 6N neither looked special. Both have lost good players, but more importantly teams have figured out how to shut them down. In particular the Irish loss to a rebuilding England and the home game struggle against a brave Scotland did nothing to prove that the Irish RWC result was undeserved. If the Scots can shut down the Irish attack, then SA can do so with interest. Rassie will have watched that game with confidence. Farrell is smart, and the Irish team is talented, so we should expect a more creative game plan in SA. But if all they bring is what they showed against Scotland then Ireland is going to struggle against the Boks. It was a fun 6N tournament, but the win for Ireland was as much about weak competition as about Irish brilliance. It was mostly due to France being off the boil, Wales and Italy not being contenders, and Scotland being a home game. England are looking much better, but “much better” should not be enough to topple a team that is supposed by some to be The Best in the World. I hope that Ireland can bump it up a notch or two for the Bok tour. A year ago they were fantastic to watch. It would be great to see that again.
24 Go to commentsLooking forward to the Wallabies being competitive again. No doubt that Joe can get them back on track.
1 Go to commentsThanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.
42 Go to commentsGreat story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
42 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
24 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
42 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
42 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
4 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to comments