The new British & Irish Lions kit was revealed yesterday as a giant ‘untouchable’ jersey hologram appeared over the London city-scape.
Commuters did a double take as they came face-to-face with the giant hologram on the Southbank while British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland, was on hand to celebrate this milestone on the journey to the 2017 Lions Tour to New Zealand.
Speaking to a group of Irish journalists over a phone link, Gatland revealed that he would be travelling out to Chicago to watch the ireland game against the All Blacks on Saturday.
He also spoke of the need to bridge the ever growing gap between the speed and intensity of international rugby as opposed to the club game tournaments that were the staple of the sport.
“We are seeing that the figures for players competing to the maximum of their capacity in terms of speed and distance covered in games increasing by as much as 30 per cent in just a few short years and that represents and entirely different game to that which we have been used to.”
Canterbury’s stunt marked the launch of the jersey that will be worn by the British & Irish Lions players in the highly anticipated Tour. A replica of this exact jersey will not be released until April when the squad is named.
The Classic and Pro versions of the shirt in Men’s, Women’s and Children’s sizes are available to buy online since yesterday at a cost of up to €80.
The Replica version of the actual match shirt is being positioned as “a bespoke piece of sporting memorabilia to keep as a once-in-a-life time collectors’ item.” It will retail at around €135.
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 specifically incorporates Vapodri technology and a relaxed fit for added supporter comfort. That’s a euphemism for stretching across the slightly different body shape that most fans would have as opposed to the players on the pitch but we can live with that.
“Canterbury are proud to be the first brand to reveal the new British & Irish Lions match jersey in a truly ‘untouchable’ way,” said CEO Chris Stephenson.
“No player past or present will touch the jersey until they have been selected to represent the Lions.”
“Our campaign plays with this insight by challenging fans to follow in the players’ footsteps and keep their hands off the jersey until the squad is announced in April.”
