The Gallagher Premiership is back with a bang for 2022/23, and with it comes of course a raft of new kits for us to get our teeth into.
As usual, this season’s crop of kits features some very traditional designs, and some that could be described as positively weird and wacky – and as usual there are a fair few duds thrown into the mix as well. Here’s every new kit that’s been launched so far from the Premiership’s 13 (hopefully) teams this year.
Bath Rugby 2023/23 kit
After a truly disastrous 2021/22 that would have seen the club relegated had the Prem not shelved it for the next three seasons, it’s perhaps no surprise that Bath are looking to happier times past to kick off the Johann Van Graan era.
Thus we have a home shirt that nods to the jersey worn by Bath’s 1998 Heineken Cup, complete with thick blue and white hoops with subtle black bars dividing them. A nice kit that is perhaps crying out for an old-school collar, and an extra black bar at the top of the design. The away is a decent grey design which reflects Macron’s obsession with chevrons this season. Bloody everywhere they are.
Bristol Bears 2022/23 kits
The Bears have been no shrinking violets when it comes to their kits since they rebranded in 2018, and their 2022/23 looks are no different, with the home kit featuring a Bears-inspired sublimated graphic that’s one part graffiti and one part ‘teenage girl’s pencil case’, complete with hearts, squiggles and all sorts.
The away kit is similar eye-catching, with bear claw rips through the base jersey revealing a striking pink and blue geometric pattern underneath – a real stunner this.
Exeter Chiefs 2022/23 kits
With their long-overdue rebrand finally ditching the awful Native American imagery, we’re delighted to be able to once again feature the Chiefs on Rugby Shirt Watch.
And it really shows how minor a tweak the rebrand was and needed to be that, in the long history of Exeter and Samurai shirts, these designs look and feel much the same as any Exeter home and away shirt over the last decade. The shirts themselves are a little underwhelming as usual, but the rebrand looks great – 10/10.
Gloucester Rugby 2022/23 kit
Gloucester are ditching the black accents on the jersey this season with an all red and white affair that’s got some very late-90s pinstripes breaking up the solid hoops.
The away shirt is blue again, with an interesting diagonal hoop pattern sublimated into the design – it’s a nice touch on what could otherwise be a very plain jersey.
Harlequins 2023/23 kits
Quins ended their long partnership with Adidas – who have made the London club’s kits since 2014 – this offseason, and have joined the growing cohort of clubs being supplied by upstart UK brand Castore. The home shirt is a pretty traditional take on the Quins recipe as a result, albeit with a very odd fakey old-school collar, complete with fake open placket. It’s weird.
The away shirt is a nice blend of ice blue, white and grey that puts a suitably modern take on the traditional harlequin diamond pattern, and mercifully just has a sensible normal human collar. Top marks for actually making proper womens’ kits this year too.
Leicester Tigers 2022/23 kits
The 2021/22 champions are throwing things back to 2013 with this season’s home shirt – which conveniently enough was the last time they took to the field as reigning Premiership Champions. As with that 2013 shirt, we have a lovely red and white bar across the green jersey, but Samurai here has added some subtle dark green hoops to accent the design.
The away shirt is red with a pattern across the front of the design that is, apparently, the shape of the soundwave created when Tigers fans cheer on their club at Welford Road – the idea being that the players will take the club’s supporters with them on the road. It’s a nice idea, and quite well executed for our money.
London Irish 2022/23 kits
Despite London Irish’s decency and morality-free approach to recruitment meaning they’re about as popular in Ireland as an Oliver Cromwell impersonator, the club has decided to play up to its Emerald Isle heritage this year with an interesting hooped design that features green and Celtic-knot-patterned hoops.
The away kit shrinks the Celtic-knot pattern down a bit and sublimates it onto a pale grey design with some nice green accents.
Newcastle Falcons 2022/23 kits
You can always rely on the Falcons to have a fairly understated kits, and 2022 is no exception – the diamond pattern shared on both the home and away kits is actually pretty nice, albeit a bit Harlquins-y.
“The True North” is of course a nod to Newcastle being the sole top-flight representative in the North East, and we really like the green change shirt, nodding as it does to the Gosforth Football Club from whence Newcastle emerged in 1996. Eventually someone will have the good idea for Falcons to wear white and green hoops again and we can all be happy, no?
Northampton Saints 2022/23 kits
A return to the early 2000s for the Saints 2022/23 home shirt, with a primarily green jersey is accented by gold bars with black pinstripes, and we even get an old-school collar into the bargain.
The away shirt is certainly not old school, and its white and lavender geometric pattern across the front is suitably striking, though this shirt feels conspicuously like it was designed to give new main sponsor Cinch a shirt to shout about…
Sale Sharks 2021/22 kits
Blue vs Red. is the theme for Sale’s 2022/23 kits, with a very old school pair of shirts that pair plain colours with proper collars and v-neck plackets for a very 1970s football vibe – we approve.
Saracens 2022/23 kits
Both Saracens home and away kits are said to be inspired by patterns found in the seating and architecture of the club’s Stone-X Stadium home, but I think we can all agree that the home shirt executes this is a much more successful way than the frankly awful white, orange and blue away kit.
Wasps 2022/23 kit
Honeycomb hoops are the order of the day for Wasps’ 2022/23 home shirt, and look, it’s a return to a look that many fans of the club have been asking for for years, so fair play to them for listening.
But it feels a bit… wrong doesn’t it? Hummell have done such gloriously retro-futuristic stuff for football in the last few years, it’s a shame we’re not seeing that on the rugby side with Wasps.
Worcester Warriors 2022/23 kits
Perhaps unsurprisingly given what’s going on with the club off the field right now, Worcester haven’t revealed a new kit for 2022/23, and judging from the Premiership launch they’ll be wearing last season’s O’Neills kit for the coming campaign.
If that changes, we’ll update this story accordingly – solidarity with everyone at the club in this most unbelievably shit time.
Rugby Shirt Watch 
Yes, the Exeter re-brand was a long time coming. I was in Ghent at the end of the last football season and the local football club have an indian chief as their club crest. Supporters were walking around the city wearing headdresses and carrying tomahawks. I asked around and it has something to do with a wild west show. People seemed quite bemused when I mentioned what happened at Exeter and the Crusaders in NZ. Shame.
Welcome back !!!!!!!!