It’s safe to say that Connacht’s reign as Pro 12 Champions has got off to a pretty forgettable start, but what better way to put thoughts of your iffy domestic form than the prospect of a return to the Champions Cup?

To mark the occasion, BLK has once again created a bespoke European jersey that the men from Galway will wear for their fixtures in Europe’s premiere club competition, and in contrast to the demure home and away shirts, it’s a very striking affair.

We’ve seen BLK utilise unconventional colours before, and they certainly didn’t spare the eye-grabbing shades for this year’s Ospreys home shirt, and here we have an interesting twist on the classic Connacht colours of green and blue with the former taking a definite turn for the fluorescent.

Paired with the more conventional blue and a return to the primary black that graced BLK’s first ever Connacht European jersey back in 2013, it’s certainly eye-catching, and the haphazard pattern isn’t by accident either.

The concept behind this shirt is designed to reflect the gratitude the province feels towards the passionate Connacht fans who provided such tremendous support as they marched to the most unlikely of titles last year.

The passion of these fans is part of the DNA of the province,  and to represent this, the green and black colours are embedded into the fabric of this European shirt to reflect the bond between players and supporters.

Compared with the Gold Award-winning home shirt or the understated away, this is obviously a much more challenging proposition, however we think this definitely works in its own way.

We really like the concept behind this jersey, and the use of flouro makes the design feel fresh, modern and very different – a perfect encapsulation of everything COnnacht will hope to bring on their return to the Champions Cup.