The reason why Ireland won't wear green shirts away to Wales
Ireland will wear white shirts during their Guinness Six Nations match away to Wales in order to help supporters impacted by colour blindness. The back-to-back champions, who began their latest title defence with victories over England and Scotland, face winless Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, February 22.
Ireland have traditionally worn their green home jerseys for previous trips to the Principality Stadium, including their last visit – a 34-10 win en route to the Grand Slam in 2023. But the combination of red, worn by Wales, and green is a particular problem for people with colour vision deficiency (CVD).
New World Rugby regulations require visiting teams to switch to an alternative option in order to avoid kit clashes which could negatively impact spectators and television viewers suffering from CVD. Around one in 12 men and one in 200 women are affected by the condition.
The Welsh Rugby Union faced criticism during last year’s championship when they declined to switch to their alternative black jerseys for the reverse fixture in Dublin.
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This is wrong though, it’s traditionally the home team that wears the away jersey in these cases, not sure I like this footballification of rugby. The story behind that is a lovely advert for the sport ☹️
It really doesn’t matter. Ireland get to flog more white Jerseys. Cash strapped Wales and their fans don’t have buy a second colour. Free marketing.