Cape Town - The Lions have unveiled their new home and away jerseys for the 2016 Super Rugby season.
The design represents the 'pride of Johannesburg', with the Joburg skyline emblazoned across the front.
Sponsors, Canterbury, commented on the new jersey design:
“Over seven months of research, design, development and more have gone into this jersey. We feel we’ve achieved in developing a technically advanced jersey that brings the pride of Johannesburg to life. This season, whether a player or fan, you will all feel that same rush of pride and meaning as you pull the jersey on for game day.
“Tradition is a big part of the game and we’ve kept that in the home jersey by utilising the Lions colours of red and white. To represent the people of Johannesburg we looked at the history of the city and found just how far the city has come from the gold rush era. Johannesburg has grown enormously, the city’s unique skyline is a direct representation of this and is a result of the people of Johannesburg’s tenacity, pride and hard work. There is not a more perfect symbol to reflect the people, the city and the team. That is why we’ve placed the Jozi skyline on the jersey.
“The away jersey allowed us to bring in more of the Johannesburg heritage as we needed a differential colour. We did this by utilising a golden skyline to resemble the birth of the city during the gold rush and a golden sunrise to reflect a new era for the Lions.
“Both the home and away jersey are based off the English and Irish national template and boast our traditional yet innovative loop collar design that has featured on Canterbury sports apparel since 1949. The 360° loop bound neckline has evolved to withstand every physicality of the game, providing resistance to challenges with enhanced elasticity and shape retention, resulting in Canterbury’s toughest collar to date.”
The new Lions 2016 Super Rugby jersey will be in all major retail stores from December 5.
Lions' 2016 Super Rugby jerseys