The future of the Cheetahs in Super Rugby is far from clear at the moment, and indeed over the last few years the Free State franchise has been going back and forth with the colours and general vibe of their home shirts.
The jump from longtime supplier Puma to join the increasingly prominent Canterbury South Africa contingent has come down firmly on the side of a solid orange home shirt – a striking and individual look that we’ve always liked.
Unlike previous seasons, the new shirts are paired with some unconventional black shorts (also cool) but other than that it’s all very restrained by the Cheetahs recent standards.
A large part of why this shirt looks so plain, however, is because just like the Sharks shirt we looked at last week, Canterbury SA has opted to produce a replica design that doesn’t use the 360° Loop neckline – opting for a more conventional one instead.
While this wasn’t much of a big deal with the Sharks shirt, it does more dramatically alter the look of this shirt. As is common with CCC’s 360° Loop designs, the neckline on the on-field shirt is fully white – giving quite a different look to this shirt.
There’s nothing wrong with this shirt, it’s perfectly nice, but it’s frustrating that the replica design feels so different from the player’s version.
Rugby Shirt Watch 