Why Ireland will ditch their trademark green kit for Six Nations clash with Wales in boost for thousands of fans
Thousands of colour-blind rugby fans will be rejoicing after Six Nations bosses agreed to end the misery of kit clashes.
For the match against Wales on February 22, Ireland will wear their alternate white jerseys instead of their traditional green, in a move which will delight significant numbers of sufferers.
Around one in 12 men and one in 200 women are impacted by some form of colour-blindness and the Wales v Ireland encounter often left many unable to distinguish between the red and green jerseys.
Last season, Mail Sport revealed how campaigners had slated the WRU when they declined to switch to their black jerseys for the reverse fixture in Dublin, with the onus to change being on the away team. At the time, the WRU blamed issues with turnaround for what appeared to be an entirely avoidable situation.
However, there will be no such issues this time around. This year’s Six Nations is now aligned with World Rugby’s colour blindness policy, which means Wales will be in their usual red shirts but the Irish will be in white jerseys.
Kathryn Albany-Ward, founder of Colour Blind Awareness, hailed the long-overdue development.
Ireland are all smiles in their iconic green kit after beating Scotland on Sunday but they will have a different look for their next Six Nations encounter – against Wales on February 22
Wales, who have lost their last 13 Test matches, will stay in their red kit as the home team
Sunderland’s clash with Newcastle last year was ruined for many after both sides wore their home jerseys, with those with colour blindness struggling to distinguish between the teams
‘It’s fantastic news,’ she said. ‘Finally, they are going to make sure that colour-blind people can follow the game. Many thousands of fans will be delighted. I hope it is going to continue and isn’t a one-off.’
Albany-Ward added that not only supporters would benefit, suggesting it would also be a positive for some of the men on the pitch.
‘This benefits everyone – including the players who often don’t feel they are able to speak up,’ she said. ‘If eight per cent of men are affected, then that means there will be two to three players in every squad who are impacted in some way.’
Albany-Ward has campaigned for change for a number of years. ‘It’s just common sense,’ she said. ‘With so many people in the population affected it never made sense not take care of your players and your fans.
‘It’s just a shame that it has taken them this long to get to this stage.’
