A mere nine years old, the “Union” of Stade Bordelais and CA Bordeaux-Begles Gironde coached by amongst others former French internationals Emile Ntmack and Raphael Ibanez ‘UBB’ will compete in the top tier of European rugby for the first time ever and this season’s beauties of home, away and Champions Cup jerseys have been released by Kappa.
Bordeaux and Kappa have been working together since 2013 and after last season’s simplistic efforts, this year’s ‘Kombat’ range, with its classy low grandad collar is a huge hit. The home jersey, as usual for UBB is white with some navy blue and burgundy features. The burgundy is a link to the region’s famous wine industry and the blue to the Gironde River that flows through the town on the Atlantic coast.
After a year of absence last season, the ‘scapulaire’ or the ‘V’ on the jersey returns, a navy blue ‘V’ sandwiched between two burgundy ‘V’s on the home edition. It’s the standout feature of all three jersey, and looks absolutely gorgeous – it’s not a chevron in the rugby league sense, but something a lot more unique and eye-catching as a result.
Burgundy is also seen under the armpits and if we have to be picky we’d perhaps have preferred this to be left off, leaving just the sleeve cuffs to provide contrast, and giving it an even cleaner feel. The club badge is located in the middle of the chest just above the V, and would look totally out of place anywhere else!
The away shirt is navy blue with a white and burgundy scapulaire whilst the Champions’ Cup jumper is the pearl out of the three, a burgundy jersey with a navy and white ‘v’. Even the main shirt sponsor Matmut is one colour, simple and classy.
All three jerseys follow the same models, and as with the Bayonne and Racing 92 models, each club has its own distinctive differences.
UBB’s distinctive feature is the wine label on the inside of the collar instead of a regular tag and also that vintage ‘v’. We hope that as with Bayonne’s jersey the numbers on the back of the top are given their own box and these Kappa jerseys are the gifts that just keep giving this season.
This jersey bloody oozes class, from collar to sleeve to the scapulaire – and for once, even the players’ version with all those extra sponsors isn’t too tacky either!
SHIT/GOOD RATING: Good
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