Northampton Saints have become one of those dangerous teams that don’t get a lot of hype or press attention, but still do pretty well – they’ve made the quarter-finals in each of the Champions Cup’s first two seasons after all, and counting out a team with names like Hartley, North, Picamoles and Lawes in it would be foolish at best…
For 2016/17 the Saints will be heading into the Champions Cup wearing a European jersey designed by new kit supplier, Macron, and the Italian company has done a rather fine job of it, you have to say.
Following on from the half-and-half vibe of the regular away shirt, this jersey blends the black shirt that has become the standard base for the Saints European jersey with the traditional black, green and gold hoops of Northampton.
In many ways, it’s a way of appeasing those who grumble that European shirts rob fans the pleasure of seeing their team run out in its heritage colours on the biggest stage, but we really think it works.
By adding a splash of traditional hoops, it makes this feel less moody and demure than many Black For Black’s Sake change shirts, and of course has the added benefit of making it feel distinctly and uniquely a Northampton Saints shirt too.
Macron has had a pretty stellar first year with the Saints, and this jersey just caps things off rather nicely – we look forward to seeing how this partnership develops in the future. But can we get a proper collar next year?
Rugby Shirt Watch 
Enough with the goddam collar requests already! Players have to wear these on the field that’s why the collars are the way they are. If you want a proper collar get one of those lame traditional long sleeve potato sack replicas.
Given that all other Macron-supplied teams in the UK have shirts with proper collars with no complaint or problem, it’s not unreasonable to wonder why Saints are the exception given that 90% of fans vastly prefer this style. If the players prefer it without, fair enough, but to assume that it’s a player comfort issue when Glasgow, Edinburgh, Quins, Racing Metro, Leinster and Scotland all use one without complaint seems a bit presumptuous…