Canada, 1995
The questionable Canada shirt worn in their most memorable Rugby World Cup game has gone on to become a cult classic.
It’s safe to say the shirt worn by Canada in the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa divided opinion. Adorned with multi-coloured maple leaves, a collage of pink, green, orange and blue gushing across the right shoulder, it was certainly a bold choice for the side readying to face reigning world champions Australia and champions-to-be South Africa in Pool A.
The previous tournament in 1991 had seen Canada make the quarter-final stage in a simple red Cotton Oxford design, but four years later Kix Sport would take a braver turn as the Canucks looked to find a way out the pool.
Ridiculed in Canada at the time, with legend Al Charron later vocalising his horror at the design, the shirt was worn for all three games of their World Cup campaign (a white away strip had also been produced but was never worn on the pitch). Led by captain Gareth Rees the Canadians side opened their account strongly with a 34-3 victory over Romania, but despite putting up a fight, a 27-11 loss to Australia in their second game was almost inevitable. That left Canada with one final chance, an all-or-nothing showdown against hosts South Africa.
The Springboks had rung the changes, but with both sides fired up and in need of a victory to advance the game descended into fracas after fracas. Punches were thrown freely by both sides which saw no less than three players sent off, the game later become dubbed as the Battle of Boet Erasmus. The full-time whistle confirmed a 20-0 victory for South Africa, and in holding the record as the dirtiest game in World Cup history to this day, the game and the shirt retains a memorable place in history. The sight of Rod Snow huddled around the referee as he gets his marching orders, his colourful shirt ripped halfway down his torso, spoke to the quality (or lack of) of the jersey, described by Charron as little better than a wet paper towel.
Of course, 1995 witnessed the dying embers of amateur rugby, and this noteworthy shirt design was a glimpse of the more commercially minded world the sport was about to enter. It may not have captured imaginations back then, but today the shirt is remembered very fondly, at the very least in the comments sections of on nostalgic social media posts and highlight reels as a reflection of the mid-90s style. Having failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in their history this year it harks back to a time when Canada were pushing the top sides in the world. The shirt may be a marmite strip, but there’s no doubt its unforgettable.
