Eastern Europe Rugby League

The final instalment of this series is the eastern European nations of Russia, Ukraine and Serbia.

Russia

Switch from blue to deep red as primary colours
Russian coat of arms on chest
Embossed baroque detailing on yoke with flag striping
Russia RL logo on main body

From an outsiders perspective, Russia just works better wearing red.I particularly like the maroon colour used on/off by the national soccer team. I’ve gone halfway and picked out a crimson shade which is used from head to toe. The current royal blue contrasts well with this shade of red. There is an embossed pattern, similar to that in the Italian jersey, on the yoke with a layered flag trim separating it from the rest of the jersey.

One of the Bears’ mainstays is the placement of their league logo where a sponsor would normally be. Its a peculiar design aesthetic that appears unique to Russia so it has been kept there.

Ukraine

Traditional Ukrainian embroidery throughout the jersey
Tryzub (trident) coat of arms logo

When applying Ukraine’s light blue and gold to something like a uniform, it kind of makes it look faded and aged, in a good way. In combination with a stark geometric font, they resemble something that could have been used decades ago. Politics and history aside, its a very unique look. I think my favourite part is the gold shorts on the secondary.

The actual jersey style is no-nonsense, just a solid 90 degree angle V, but with an embroidered pattern integrated. This pattern is extended onto the rest of the jersey as hoops on the secondary.

Serbia

Eagle beak yoke with feather texture
Raised sponsor

This was basically an update of an old Serbian jersey I saw years ago. It was a cool idea but lacked a bit in execution:

Source: http://www.oldrugbyshirts.com

The V yoke was reshaped to look more like an eagle’s beak with the feathers toned down. The look was finished off with red shorts and socks to differentiate from other blue teams.