If the last few weeks have taught us anything it’s that you, yes you, the Rugby Shirt Watch reader, bloody loves these Pacific Rugby Premiership shirts. And why wouldn’t you? Our first two reviews – the Denver Barbarians and Olympic Club – have been two truly gorgeous shirts, and now we’re heading back to California for the latest offering from Canterbury and Santa Monica Rugby Club, let’s dive in…
Santa Monica Rugby Club has been in existence since the early 70s, when it were founded by a bunch of graduates who had picked up the game in university and wanted to carry on playing this awesome sport outside the collegiate system. Indeed, the popularity of rugby in colleges, particularly those in California, has been the bedrock of rugby in the USA in the last few decades, and without the Collegiate Rugby Championship, it’s unlikely the sport would have developed to the level it’s reached today.
Before we talk about the shirt… we need to talk about the badge. Now, it might not surprise you to know that Santa Monica’s nickname is the Dolphins, and why not? Santa Monica’s got plenty of them to look at, and dophins are, by any measure, awesome. But you have to ask… has the person who drew the club badge actually, like, seen one?
For the record, THIS is what a dolphin looks like – notice the grace, the elegance, the basic damn shape of the thing… we’re not sure what’s gone on here, but if that is actually a dolphin, he’s the kind of dolphin who’s the result of an illicit tryst between brother and sister… anyway… ahem…
Badge aside, this is yet another bloody lovely shirt from Canterbury. The chevron is of course much more associated with rugby league, but we don’t see them having a trademark on it, and when it’s done in such a striking way as this, we’re certainly not arguing.
Dark green is not exactly an unheard of colour in rugby union, far from it, but the way it’s been complimented by the striking white chevron and sleeve cuffs really makes this a an eye-catcher. It’s not too dissimilar to last season’s London Irish shirt in many ways, but cleaned up and simplified in the way that Canterbury does so well.
We’re also fans of the way this shirt has resisted the urge to clutter the front of the jersey with any sponsor logos, leaving the striking white chevron to take pride of place, and keeping the sponsorship on the plain back side of the shirt, where it’s far less intrusive.
So, another Pacific Rugby Premiership shirt, and another home run for Canterbury. Purists might argue that the chevron design makes it look a bit too rugby league, but we couldn’t care less – it looks fantastic, and really stands out from the rugby shirt crowd – if you’re equally taken with it, it’s available exclusively from our friends at WorldRugbyShop.com. Someone needs to tell them how to draw a dolphin, mind…
SHIT/GOOD RATING: DOL-FINE
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