Hurricanes Super Rugby 2016 Adidas Away Shirt

The 2016 Hurricanes home shirt was quite the departure for the 2015 Super Rugby finalists. Since their formation in 1996, yellow had been the Canes’ primary colour, and had been increasingly pushing black out of their home shirt, culminating in last year’s almost totally yellow design. That all changed this year, however…

In a break from the norm, the Hurricanes instead opted for a shirt that was primarily black, with just the top quarter of the design using the traditional yellow. It looks great, of course, but it wasn’t exactly going to please those fans who were attached to the club’s old look.

Given that fact, it’s something of a no-brainer that the away shirt is a basic colour-swap of the home shirt, then – with yellow becoming black, and black becoming yellow.

Not only does it look very sharp, but it keeps the fans who preferred the old, primarily yellow look happy – after all, if they don’t like the home shirt because it’s too dark, they can just buy the away shirt and pretend. How very Cardiff City…

This also feels like a slightly more restrained design than the home – the fact that it’s bright yellow, notwithstanding, of course – the ‘hurricane’ motif is slightly less overt on the main body of the shirt, and blends in a bit, while the pinstriped version on the shoulders is obviously less eye-grabbing here.

If you liked the Hurricanes 2016 home shirt, chances are you’ll like this shirt just as much – they’re very similar. Crucially though, if you’re a Hurricanes fan who didn’t like the new look, this one is much more likely to meet with your approval, and that’s smart shirt design. It should please fans of Geordie La Forge, too, let’s face it…