It’s easy to forget that the four stars above the club badge of Toulouse represent that there was a time when the Occitanie aristocrats were the undisputed kings of European rugby.
In truth it’s been a decade since Toulouse were last a force in Europe, but their return to the Champions Cup this season (complete with a very impressive first two games) indicates that the good times might be on the way again, and they’ll be marking that return with a new Nike European shirt.
Red has always been Toulouse’s colour of choice when it comes to European competition, and that continues again for 2018/19, following on from last season’s bespoke Euro jersey, but it’s a little more restrained.
Instead of the cavalcade of stripes and jagged shapes that covered last season’s design, here we have a series of tonal diagonal pinstripes that thicken to a prominent dark red sash that runs across the centre of the design.
Other than that, it’s all very clean and restrained, as all good jerseys should be, though we do like the little white and black striped flourish on the sleeve cuffs a lot.
Toulouse’s victory over Leinster in this season’s Champions Cup certainly put the club back on the map as far as European superpowers go. Time will tell if they can live up to that billing, but one thing is for sure, they’ll be doing it in a rather lovely kit.
Rugby Shirt Watch 