New Kit: The New Springbok Rugby Jersey - Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Edition
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) along with apparel partner Nike have unveiled their new Springbok Men's Rugby Jersey to be worn for the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Series against New Zealand's All Blacks.
The New Springboks Rugby Jersey Design:
The New Springbok Jersey sports the iconic and traditional Green and Gold colorway, accompanied by the South African National Anthem's Lyrics, which has been integrated into the green panels. The anthem (Nkosi sikelel' Afrika) can be seen applied in a dark, serif font and shaped to form an abstract rendition of the nation's flag.
The collar has also been redesigned. Losing the Protea-inspired triangular pattern, the neck-hole has been replaced by a simplistic and modern yellow collar with a slim white accent running parallel to the neckline.
Another 'major' introduction are the all yellow side panels, stemming from the armpits to to about the hip area.
The Rational:
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby stated that "they (the Springbok Team and Management) play for the people of South Africa and wear their hearts on their sleeve; now they will wear the words of the anthem on their chests."
Oberholzer also goes on to say that the Jersey is "truly like no other" and matches the uniqueness of the Tour.
Our Take:
A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I had a little go at designing our own renditions of the Springbok. Not knowing what Nike had up their sleeve, we had a crack at how we thought the jersey should look and the results were the following:
My Friend's Jersey Concept:
My friend used the current 2025/26 Nike Springboks' Kit as a base and adjusted it to embody the uniqueness the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour.
For the pattern, he used a texture that represented grass patches/squares which intersect with a springbok head, spanning from the neckline to the middle of the torso.
He also swopped out the Protea Pattern on the collar with a more subtle, duo-tone variant and opted to introduce a more prominent and heritage-inspired version on the sleeve ends.
A subtle touch he added to the jersey was plastic laminated and reflective logos and badges for the Springbok, Nike and South African Emblems and Logos.
My Jersey Concept:
For my rendition, I opted to take some inspiration from previous iconic Springbok Jerseys.
The collar symbolises a Protea with it's slits representing it's leafy parts whilst also paying homage to the 2003 and 2007 collars.
The seemed yellow trimlines in between panels are inspired by the 2001, 1999 and 2007 jerseys.
Lastly, the jersey sports a side panel, close to the rib area, in the shape of the stripe that could be found on an actual springbok, the South African National Animal.
In conclusion, how does the Springbok RGR Jersey look?
Well, compared to the All Black's Jersey it's a winner. Hands down. But then again, it didn't really put up a fight to begin with.
Let's hope the actual rugby supplies more of a spectacle.
The Official Springbok Jersey will be on sale at the Springbok Online Retail Store as well as at the Nike.com online shop.
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