LAST UPDATE | 28 Aug 2020

CANTERBURY HAVE APOLOGISED for an “error” in relation to how they launched the new Ireland rugby jersey. 

Irish Rugby’s kit manufacturer unveiled the new home shirt last week, allowing fans to pre-order online ahead of its release in October. 

While senior men’s players Conor Murray, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw were pictured in the latest strip, Canterbury chose to use a model to promote the jersey designed specifically for women. 

That sparked criticism from supporters online, who argued that members of the women’s team should have featured. 

Canterbury have admitted their mistake and apologise for any upset caused.

“As a brand we believe in putting our hands up if we get something wrong,” the statement reads. “To announce that our new Ireland Women’s Pro jersey was available for pre-order, we super-imposed the jersey’s image onto a model to share this exciting development with our dedicated female players and fans.

“It was always, and remains, our intention to photograph the female players in the new jersey and we remain committed to supporting the talented women in our rugby community on and off the field.

While the image was primarily designed for our website, which also features male models, it has understandably caused some frustration. We accept that this was an error and apologise for an upset caused.

“At Canterbury we believed that rugby is for everyone and we’re united by our mutual love of the game. We look forward to sharing our ‘A New Horizon’ campaign to support the launch of our Ireland Women’s Pro jersey in October, with the same commitment and dedication that we have for all our teams.”

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