British Isles Nations Rugby League

Introduction

I already posted an England design earlier but wanted to do the rest of the RL nations in the British Isles as well – Ireland, Scotland and Wales. One of the challenges, as was the case with England, was to create identities that did not just mimic the designs of their rugby union counterparts.

Ireland

Predominantly emerald green design
Ireland’s “four provinces flag” featured on jersey body
Hooped socks

Ireland is a broader term for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. LIke most of their (combined) national level sporting teams, I didn’t want to play up one side over the other. The four provinces flag seems to be a safer bet, representing the traditional division of the island rather than a national identity. The flag is presented in tonal green. To further differentiate from the Irish rugby uniform, I went with green shorts and hooped socks.

Scotland

St. Andrew’s Cross on jersey
Tartan shorts and socks
Navy/purple/gold design

The popular tartan shorts from the 2013 world cup have been toned down a bit and complemented with tartan socks. I chose the de facto secondary colour of purple (from the thistle) and paired it with gold. The idea was to create a design that looked plain from a distance but with details that become apparent when viewed closely. The clash uniform uses the formal colours of the Scottish flag and has a more obvious rendition of St. Andrew’s cross.

Wales

Bolder V design
Tweaked WRL crest to a shield shape
Welsh flag on back of collar
St. David’s cross inspired clash design

The current design for the Welsh is not too bad. I modified the V to a more traditional depth and striping pattern. The green strands out more as it is now bordered by white on all sides. The clash is based on the colours of St. David’s cross without actually using the cross itself. The WRL logo was placed inside of a shield shape and given a black background to make the details stand out. Both uniforms have the Welsh flag on the back of the collar.

Great Britain and Ireland

Modified traditional Great Britain design to include Ireland (green)
Names of each of the four nations on the inner collar
Map of Great Britain and Ireland on the back of collar

Although Great Britain hasn’t played a match in nearly a decade, there have been calls for GB tours of Australia and New Zealand on a semi-regular basis. I chose the name “Great Britain and Ireland” as it refers to the two major island of the region rather than the political mess of the four constituent nations. The design is a simple tweak on the traditional GB design, with green added to the yoke of the jersey above the double V as well as a bit of green trim on the shorts and socks.