The Edinburgh rugby side have revealed their new jersey to be worn in two 1872 Cup derby matches against rivals Glasgow. I'd love to be able to tell you what the significance is of the matches, 137 years after they occurred (?) - but the helpful press release doesn't tell you anything other than what they cost and why should I have to research it? You're the one trying to tell me about your great new promotion.

I guess the PR department had their hands full trying to find the only pair of aviator sunglasses in all of Scotland - I hear they had to import them after being laughed at by all and sundry. You can only take so many people looking at you quizzically and asking 'Sunglasses? What the fuck for?'

The jerseys looked garish to me at first, but they're ok. The only problem is now the jersey stands out more than the sponsors but depending on your view of the 'professionalism is killing rugby!!111!' argument, you may not see that as a problem. I think it'd look better if the collars ended at the black - or the chinese collar style was black and not tie-dye.

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Two more things before I go;

9-8.... BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

and here's a great insight into the TMO, posted on rugbydump on Friday.

I hope we get the super slo-mo for the 2011 World Cup.

A quick look back at the NRL final, then a detailed analysis of the Stade Francais rugby team strip, Daniel Braid defects to Australia, and Steve Tew's master plan is unveiled...

Download Episode 35

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This is the Stade Francais brown alt-strip. This may be one of my favourite rugby jerseys of all time. If you could remove the advertising logos it would be perfect.

And if I may be candid for a moment: Fuck all of the homophobic douchebags commenting on the Stuff article!

UPDATE: Stade Francais (naturally) have a store, where you can purchase replicas of all of their jerseys.

Stade Français have a long history of interesting uniform designs. Yes, I think "interesting" is the right word.

Their latest uniform design has an Andy Warhol inspired front panel depicting 13th-century Parisienne heroine Blanche de Castille, the wife of Louis VIII. Many are claiming that this is the "worst kit ever".

The Guardian said:

Paris, the epicentre of the fashion world, with its coterie of revered designers and boulevards of stylish boutiques, is home to a
rugby team with little or no fashion sense.

Last season's light brown number, above left, with turquoise stripes and pink flowers was reminiscent of an Hawaiian shirt fashioned from some 1970s caravan curtains.

Another pink, green and blue effort, middle, blurred the line between sportswear and hippy chic with its tie-dyed blurred lines.

One of the commenters on Stuff said (the Stuff article is pretty much the same as the Guardian):

Truly, truly appalling. Still, it might have a flow on effect for their opposition in that no self-respecting red-blooded footy guy would be seen dead in it, which should make them easier to beat or at least more fun to tackle?

Luckily, (Dropkick-reader) Naly was there holding down the fort for uniform decency!

Stade Francais have had some shockers, but this is definately a step in the right direction and actually looks quite cool. I'd buy it if it were on sale here.

It's wayyyy better than the new Canterbury of New Zealand uniforms (especially the orange Perpignan one).

I actually agree with Naly and the large amount of commenters on the Guardian blog: it's alright.

I think that it could do without the faux-denim (which gives it that Canadian tuxdeo look) but from a distance you can't really see that detail. As for the front panel, well it's no worse than Harlequins and at least it isn't sporting a wallabra.

In fact I think it actually looked better than the awful lime-green uniforms their opponents were wearing in this video.

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Historically, though, this is far from the best uniform Stade Francais has worn. The club's main strip is:

Royal blue (of a fairly darker hue in the recent seasons) is the main colour, used for the jersey, while the shorts are red and the stockings white. The logo sports the club’s three colours, blue, white and red. The white letters S and F (the club’s initials) are painted on a red-blue shield. The twelve blue stars represent the twelve championship wins.

Then there is their famous pink away-jerseys (though in that pic they are wearing them at home) introduced in the 2005 season. Followed by the Kenzo-designed flower patterned jerseys (pink for away and dark blue for home, both had pink lillies with green numbers). I saw these when I was in Paris in August 2006 and thought they were the coolest rugby jerseys ever.

(I would be chastised by Marie if I didn't mention that SF didn't wear their famous pink away against Toulouse as it was deemed that the pink was too close to Toulouse's red).

In my opinion the only foot SF have put wrong is the disgusting tie-dye uniforms they wore recently against Toulon.

Personally, this is my favourite Stade Français uniform. Dark blue jersey, red collar, white shorts, dark blue socks.