The limited edition England shirt from Nike will be worn against Wales

England and their shirt sponsor Nike are rolling back the years, with the squad taking on Wales in Twickenham’s Centenary Match on Saturday February 6 sporting a limited edition, traditional look jersey to commemorate a century since the two nations’ first encounter at HQ.

In the original match on January 15, 1910 England emerged the victors 11-6 and the pearl white shirt was inspired by the one worn by that winning team. The 2010 team will run out in the iconic jersey featuring authentic detailing and a stunning embroidered rose emulating that on the 1910 kit. Nike technology remains at the heart of the jersey with dri fit a feature and gripper patter on the chest to improve performance.

A replica shirt is available from today (January 5) together with a polo shirt, T shirt and limited edition centenary jacket. These are available at the Rugby Store at Twickenham Stadium and York Street, Twickenham and also online at rfu.direct.com.

Said Andy Ward, RFU Head of Retail, “This shirt celebrates 100 years of Twickenham Stadium and takes its inspiration from the shirt worn a century ago, whilst ensuring the players still have the performance they expect from a Nike shirt. The replica shirts are limited in supply and we expect there will be a big demand for them from England fans.”

England get in touch with their purple side

England will play in purple for the first time when they pull on their change strip for the Investec Challenge Series against Argentina at Twickenham on November 14.

Nike’s new change kit for 2009/10 is launched today, drawing on inspiration from the iconic purple tracksuit jacket worn by England players in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

The RFU and Nike collaborated on the new design and the purple kit has been roundly applauded for the traditions it evokes.

England’s youngest ever captain Will Carling said: “Purple for me makes me think about when I first played for England. I remember when I played England school boys and you got the purple tracksuit, and that was it. It was just wow. For me, the colour purple means England Rugby.”

Current England captain Steve Borthwick is looking forward to pulling on the jersey for the first time and said: “The purple kit looks striking and really stands out. I associate the colour purple with the late 1980’s and early 90’s, one of the golden era’s of the English game.

“As a kid I remember seeing heroes such as Will Carling, Rory Underwood and Jerry Guscott lining up for the national anthem wearing the purple tracksuit. That emotion, that pride and spirit is ever present within the squad to this day. I have no doubt that the players will be as motivated and proud as ever taking to the pitch wearing this new kit.”

The innovation and technology in the new change kit mirrors that of the latest white home kit which, weighing in 27 per cent lighter than in previous seasons, is designed to give the team every possible advantage on the pitch.

Tight fitting rugby apparel was introduced by Nike in 2003 in a bid to help reduce the opportunity to be tackled via the shirt, and this season sees further innovations to improve the fit of the apparel. The ergonomically designed jersey, with underarm sleeve panels gives players complete freedom of movement combined with an optimised fit and comfort.

The new Nike England rugby change kit is on sale from November 2, 2009. Fans can pre-order from October 29, 2009 from the RFU Direct website.

Leo Sandino-Taylor, Head of Communications, Nike UK & Ireland said: “The need to produce a change strip for the visit of Argentina gave us great opportunity to really look at England’s proud rugby history and create a design that would inspire the players and fans.”

New England Home Kit modelled by Danny Care

Today sees the launch of England’s new home kit for the 2009/10 season with fans able to pre-order now before general release on October 1.

Produced by Nike, the lightest and most innovative playing jersey yet sees England return to a classic all-white playing strip with the shirt boasting an open neck collar and iconic embroidered rose.

The neck of the jersey carries the motto ‘RUGBEIA FLOREAT UBIQUE’ Latin for ‘RUGBY FLOURISHES EVERYWHERE’, plus a subtle print of the St George’s flag to capture the spirit of the England squad.

At 27% lighter than in previous seasons the new kit is designed to give the team every possible advantage on the pitch.

Tight fitting rugby apparel was introduced by Nike in 2003 in a bid to help reduce the opportunity to be tackled via the shirt, and this season sees further innovations to improve the fit. The ergonomically designed jersey, with underarm sleeve panels, gives players complete freedom of movement, optimised fit and comfort.

A new and improved ‘gripper’ print features on the chest panels of the jersey, effective in both wet and dry weather. Nike has worked with players to ensure that the gripper print is positioned at the optimum position to help catch and carry the ball, whilst the gripper layout was inspired by the famous structure of Twickenham Stadium.

Nike’s Dri Fit fabric has been specially engineered to be stronger and more flexible than ever, ensuring that sweat is moved away from players’ bodies to provide comfort and enhance performance against the opposition.

Along with the shirt, the shorts and socks have been developed to improve comfort and moisture management for the full 80 minutes of the game. For the shorts, Nike has used two fabrics: a woven ripstop as the main fabric, ideal for lifting in the lineout, and a chamois to keep the players’ hands dry and the front gusset design provides maximum range of movement for the players in all situations.

Pre-order your new kit now by visiting www.rfudirect.com and be automatically entered into a draw to win a brand new shirt signed by the England Elite Squad.