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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Matthew Southcombe

There's one thing about the new Wales rugby kit that's annoyed fans and this is what the WRU say about it

Wales' new rugby kits were launched on Saturday and for the most part, they went down really well with the fans.

The traditional red jersey , with a slick new white collar, backed up by a bold but smart green alternate kit had most Welsh supporters applauding.

But there was one sticking point and it has caused a bit of a stir. The price.

Modern-day sports kits across the board seem to be getting more expensive every time they come out and there has been an increase in price of the Wales shirts.

Adult replica shirts will cost you £70, which is a £5 increase on the shirt that was released two years ago.

And you'll have to pay £75 to get the World Cup replica version - with no title sponsor and the World Cup logo.

However, youth replica shirts are the same as they were when the last one came out at £50.

The authentic jerseys, identical to the ones the players will wear, start at £90.

This annoyed many fans and there has been no shortage of them taking to social media to say they will refuse to purchase one of the new tops because of the price.

However, the Welsh Rugby Union say they endeavour to do their best to protect fans, suggesting it is the manufacturers who set the market.

“There is the authentic and the replica which are both going up a little bit in price," WRU Partnership Manager Lee Bailey told WalesOnline before the launch.

“We stand up for the consumer and we say to Under Armour that if you price people out of the market, they’re not going to buy it.

“We have the same conversation around tickets and beer pricing in the stadium. People accept that things have to go up but if they go up disproportionately, we hear about it.

“The last thing you want to do is be seen to rip off your customers.

“We have a conversation on price but we are a retailer, so we don’t dictate the price.

“We’ve worked with Under Armour for 10 years now and they get that if you stick the price of a shirt up by £20, people aren’t going to buy it.

“It’s tough because everyone wants to keep their margins.”

Wales' authentic kit, which won't be to all fans' taste because it will be tighter fitting, is the cheapest when compared to other top nations that have released their Rugby World Cup kits. The authentic All Blacks jersey, for example, is priced at £109.99.

The replica Welsh jerseys are not the cheapest but remain competitively-priced when it comes to their nearest rivals. The All Blacks World Cup replica jersey is, however, actually cheaper at £69.99.

The Union would point out that their kit will last for around 18 months as opposed to just one year, like most other tier one nations.

Wales are due to get their next new kit before the 2021 Six Nations.

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