It is an expression more usually associated with sending people to sleep. But the Rugby Football Union will be hoping that the “white noise” that has inspired England’s new kit for the 2018-19 season can provide a wakeup call to Eddie Jones’s side.
The new shirt – which costs £95 – will be worn for the first time on 3 November against South Africa, with a statement released by the RFU explaining that “the design of the shirt takes inspiration from ‘white noise’, the effect created by the sound of England supporters cheering the team on”. The term white noise is more regularly used to describe the hissing sound created by the static from electrical items such as televisions and radios without signal and can also be used to block out background noise in order to help people sleep.
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Featuring a number of St George’s crosses “reflecting patriotism” as well as incorporating platinum and titanium colours “symbolising the strength of those metals”, the shirts will also include a one-piece crossover crew collar for increased comfort, which reduces “neck pump”, while the forward facing side seam allows “the jersey to twist with the player, aiding smooth movement”.
A new alternate anthracite kit that Jones’s side is likely to wear only once – against Japan on 17 November – has also been launched. The two new kits mean England have released 12 in the last four years.
New home and alternate kits are also expected to be released next season and worn by England in their World Cup warm-up matches in August and September as well as the subsequent Six Nations and on the 2020 summer tour of Japan. Separate World Cup kits will also be released.
In the RFU’s annual report for 2017, merchandising revenue was up £1.5m to £7m but the union defends its policy of releasing at least two new kits every year on the basis that “revenues generated through kit sales are invested directly back into the game”.