Quins get shirty

Harlequins today unveiled rugby's most controversial change of jersey and admitted they did not want to wear the new strip.

At a time when football and rugby clubs are exasperating fans with expensive changes of club colours, Quins are siding with their supporters and bemoaning the arrival of a new away strip to satisfy European Cup regulations.

Quins boast the most famous rugby colours in the world, featuring French grey, light blue, magenta, chocolate, light green and black - and have not had to change jerseys because that rainbow effect has never clashed with any other team.

Now, as part of a new four-year, £600,000 kit deal with Kooga, Quins have received an official away kit, although Tony Copsey, the club's managing director, is adamant that the jerseys - featuring a light blue body with black and magenta on the shoulders - will stay in their wrappers.

Copsey, the former Wales, Saracens and Llanelli lock, said: "According to European regulations we have to provide a change of strip but when it would be needed is beyond me.

"Who has a jersey that looks like ours? The deal with Kooga meant we could ask them for help in designing a new away jersey.

"We are pleased with the result and will stock it in the club shop. However, we don't intend to ever wear it in matches because since 1866 we have worn the multi-coloured jersey and there is no reason to change.

"We will be canvassing the fans' opinions on our web site, but I am sure they will agree that an away kit is unnecessary.

"There have been changes to our traditional jersey for this season with Kooga producing a new version featuring the latest technology using Evaporex, which allows sweat to disappear through special panels. A player can lose up to a stone in sweat and that makes the old style jerseys very heavy. We used the new Quins jersey in a two hour training session and it was bone dry at the end.

"While the look of the jersey is hi-tech, it still retains all the colours that this club is famous for and are worn by 30 affiliated Quins teams around the world."

The club colours are patented, and to coincide with the latest leap forward in jersey design, Quins are producing a 'retro' jersey for those fans who prefer a more traditional look.