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That’s why he was chosen to lead an Isuzu expedition along the Black Mountain Pass in the Brecon Beacons last week, the location for the first public sighting of the new Wales jersey from Under Armour.
The new Wales kit (available now from store.wru.wales) carries markings featuring contour lines taken from maps of the cities of Bangor and Cardiff, together with landscape surrounding both Neath and Lampeter.
And a road trip with new shirt sponsor Isuzu, heading north from Cwmgors Rugby club, up the A4069 and along ‘Top Gear road’ – so called due to the infamous TV show’s liking for it as a filming destination – was deemed the ideal way to bring the whole concept to life.
The topography of the Welsh landscape is picked out on the very shoulders which will carry the hopes of a nation into battle against Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa in the Under Armour Series at Principality Stadium this autumn and Davies expects his fellow players to be more than happy with their new look.
“Isuzu is a global brand and having them sponsor the Welsh Rugby Union will be a good partnership leading into the Rugby World Cup in particular,” said Davies, who was joined by Wales women’s scrum-half Keira Bevan as the pair became the first players to wear the new kit in public.
“These are exciting times at the moment and I’m just glad to be a part of it.
“The new design is excellent with the topography of the whole country, it starts from Lampeter in West Wales across to Neath into Cardiff and back up to Bangor.
“The topography printed is totally different from jersey’s we have had before, it’s quite unique and we will all be excited about the prospect of wearing it on match-day.”
The jersey features the contour lines of Neath – the birthplace of the WRU in 1881 – Lampeter, Bangor and
Cardiff making special reference to the history of the game in Wales.
Lampeter is widely believed to be the first town in Wales to have fielded a rugby team in the 1870s, Cardiff has pride of place on the kit as home of Principality Stadium and Bangor is a proud rugby city and founding club representing the North.
Davies and Bevan began their journey in Gareth Edward’s country at Cwmgors RFC, where Wales’ greatest player is president, before climbing aboard an Isuzu D-Max Blade to wind their way into the barren wilderness of the Black Mountains – one of Wales’ highest roads.
Isuzu were announced as a new four year partner to Welsh rugby earlier in the summer and will be appear on the new Wales kit in front of thousands of watching fans for the first time against the Wallabies on Saturday 11th November.
The jersey remains at the forefront of sports apparel design with Under Armour’s latest innovative technology crafted into every aspect of the kit.
The presence of ArmourGrip™ supports ball retention in play, whilst Under Armour’s HeatGear® technology is incorporated to ensure maximum comfort for the players and help keep the body temperature stable throughout the match.
Elsewhere on the kit sees the return of a classic-red top and socks against contrasting white shorts.
The Wales home jersey is available to purchase now priced at £90 (Recommended Retail Price or RRP) for the authentic jersey – this jersey carries the exact specifications of playing kit and will be in place for the next two season, right up until Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. Replica jerseys RRP at £65 for both men’s and women’s fit and RRP at £50 for youth.
However, if purchased directly from WRU outlets store.wru.wales a unique early bird offer, designed to dress as many supporters as possible in red for the 2017 Under Armour Series is available – the authentic jersey is priced at £84.99 and replica jerseys are £54.99 and £44.99 (youth) up until kick-off against the Wallabies on 11th November.
A Rugby World Cup semi-final (2011), a Grand Slam (2012) followed by a second Six Nations Championship title a year later, two successful British & Irish Lions tours to Australia and then New Zealand – culminating in a man-of-the-series award last summer in New Zealand – and a domestic title with the Scarlets, who lifted the 2017 Pro12 trophy, are just some of Davies’ most notable achievements.
So, who better to model the new Wales jersey for 2017-2019 – the WRU has worked to a two-year kit policy since 2011 (excluding Rugby World Cups), meaning a jersey bought in October 2017 will remain current until the summer of 2019.
Davies has his own affinity with Edwards and Cwmgors as part of a rugby playing family himself, he was fascinated to see the images of Gareth’s brother Gethin Edwards adorning the walls and the Captain’s board of the club (for two years running in 1972 and 1972).
The Davies family also boast an Olympic silver medal in their trophy cabinet courtesy of Jonathan’s younger brother James, who also stars for the Scarlets.
“We believe Gareth Edwards played for us at youth level, but he was so good he was soon snapped up and moved on, but Gethin was a club captain,” said Cwmgors secretary Keith Davies.
“We have shirts and photos presented by Gareth on the club walls and Gareth is of course our president and is very good to the club, but everyone’s favourite picture is the one we have of both brothers.
“Welsh rugby is a family after all isn’t it and Jonathan is the ideal example of that. We are delighted that Isuzu have chosen Cwmgors to help launch this new jersey and pleased to be able to play our latest part in the history of the Wales team.”
All profits made by the Welsh Rugby Union are fed directly back into the game and significantly contribute to safeguarding the future of Welsh rugby.
