GLOBAL SPORTSWEAR COMPANY Puma have taken back the set of commemorative jerseys work by Ireland’s rugby players against South Africa on Saturday for a comprehensive examination.

The shirts – commissioned to mark the first international game at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road stadium – had to be replaced at half-time after a first period in which they ripped consistently.

A Puma spokesman, speaking to TheScore.ie this afternoon said that the German ‘sportlifestyle’ firm are determined to get to the bottom of the problem.

Colin Morrissey of Horison Sports – speaking for Puma – explained that the adverse conditions affected the gear, in a game which Ireland lost by two points to the world champions after Ronan O’Gara hit a late conversion effort off the post.

It was affected by the wet weather and they obviously made the decision at half time to switch to the old gear.

The commemorative jerseys have been taken back and Puma will identify exactly what the problem was. In the meantime they’re back in the jerseys they wore for the Six Nations

And after a week of embarrassing climb-downs for the IRFU, this latest minor set-back, is all they need. Writes David Kelly in the Irish Independent this morning:

Quite apart from the ticketing shambles, jersey-gate also mocks the supposedly bright sparks in their new Dublin 4 offices. Ireland had to change every single one of their commemorative jerseys at half-time.

“The ultra-modern fabrics and construction techniques that give the kit the strong and lightweight high-performance demanded by today’s players”, which will set punters back a cool €60, apparently rip when you fold your arms.

Can’t see many of them shifting.