Since 1950, the British and Irish Lions have consistently donned their emblematic kit featuring red jerseys, white shorts, and blue socks accented with a green turnover at the top for every tour.
These colors were carefully selected to symbolize the unified representation of the four rugby nations comprising the Lions: England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Before 1950, the Lions sported various kit designs, all incorporating the colors red, white, and blue in different arrangements.
The inaugural Lions kit in 1888 showcased blue and red horizontal stripes on a white shirt, complemented by white shorts and blue socks.
Subsequent iterations followed similar patterns until 1910, when the team adopted a dark blue jersey with a white collar, paired with white shorts and red socks.
The now-iconic Lions kit made its debut in 1950.
During the 1930 tour of New Zealand, the blue jersey design sparked considerable controversy. It led to a kit clash with the All Blacks, compelling them to adopt an alternative, resulting in their first-ever appearance in white.
Concurrently, Irish lock George Beamish raised concerns about the absence of green in the kit, prompting the addition of a green turnover on the socks. The blue jersey persisted until the final tour before World War II, held in South Africa in 1938.
Following the war, the Lions planned a return to New Zealand in 1950, and the blue jersey was replaced with red to avert a recurrence of the kit clash that had caused contention in 1930.
Since then, the red jersey has remained a constant, undergoing only minor modifications related to branding.
Kit supplier logos began appearing on Lions kits in 1993, with Nike serving as the team’s apparel manufacturer. The first front-of-shirt sponsor was Scottish Provident in 1997.
The 1997 Lions jersey marked the first instance of featuring both a kit manufacturer logo and a front-of-shirt sponsor.
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