Rugby Jerseys - ColonialRugby.com.au

Colonial Rugby Football Kits

Sean Fagan - ColonialRugby.com.au

The playing kit of rugby footballers today may include a number of features that appear to just be embellishments, serving no function other than style and appearance. For example - the high collar, coloured piping to the top of socks and stripes on the side of shorts. All is not as it appears...

The first playing kits of club teams covered the full body. Most wore skull caps (possibly in team colour), the jersey, work breeches (strides/pants) that ended below the knee, long stockings (socks) and boots.

1890s rugby

The more stylish footballers wore belts around the top of the pants, others used tape or ribbon which would be tied into a knot. The side of the pants incorporated a heavy and strong seam. Tape would be stitched into and around the top of socks, so it too could be tied into a knot.

University of Sydney player at the end of the 19th century, alongside a referee

Though replaced by elastics later on, the modern use of coloured piping at the top of socks and the stripes on the side of shorts grew from the original functions of these stitchings. While the full-body style of player kit was soon lost from rugby league and union, its use has been preserved in American football.

Stanley Wickham was a top player in Sydney rugby in the early 1900s

Jerseys originally did not have high or turned-over collars. Tackling a fast running back was achieved with a throw from grabbing the player at the top of the jersey - known as a collar-stud tackle. To deceive defenders some players wore a loosely tied hankerchief around their neck, a fake collar or similar invention.

A creative yolk-style jersey protection from a North Sydney player in 1902

The 'whiskers tacklers' sometimes grabbed the loose fabric instead of the jersey. Many jerseys were ripped and players had to retire during games to re-stitch their jersey.

This Newtown (in Sydney) player from the early 1900s appears to have manufactured boots, in bright colours

Most players wore walking boots with leather bars nailed across the undersole to help with their footing and for pushing (in scrums etc.). Top players had different pairs of boots built for wet and dry weather.

The 1905 NZ All Blacks were one of the first to wear this type of jersey.

The 'deluxe' version of football jerseys in the era were the ones that incorporated a chamios shoulder straddle. These were almost impossible to rip or for a defender to keep hold of. They incorporated a canvas insert let in at the shoulders of the jersey, and may also have helped reduce its weight when wet.

Chris McKivat - Glebe

The best dressed Sydney team of the early 1900s was Glebe. Their players had the full belt for the shorts, canvas top jersey and incorporated a badge.

A.B. Burge - South Sydney The clubs who wore two or three coloured hoops may have been reluctant to introduce the reinforced jersey as it could only be obtained in one colour. However individual players at Wests, Newtown, Souths and Easts can be seen in team photos wearing this type of jersey.

The high collar grasping tackle was becoming less frequent and this style of jersey lapsed from use.

The typical jersey of the early 1900s was made of wool and was particularly heavy by today's standards. Once wet, it was an extra load for the players to carry around the field.

This type of jersey continued in use until at least the early 1960s when newer materials became available.

While the use of shorts offered far more freedom of movement, it also exposed knees to grazing and infection (which could - and did - prove to be fatal).

Players would often cover their knees with bandings for some protection. The insides of the socks were also heavily padded to guard the shins. Jersey sleeves remained long throughout this era.