During the presentation of the XV of France jersey for the Rugby World Cup, comments on social networks pointed to its high price: 300 euros. This jersey is a limited edition, it is 100% produced in France.
“At this price, do we have a place for the final too?” “300 euros for the jersey, finally the places for the Olympic Games were not expensive”or “Put it at 1,000 euros while you’re at it”… Comments are piling up on social networks around the price of the France team jersey for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
In a video broadcast Friday, June 16, the equipment manufacturer Le Coq Sportif unveiled the jersey of the XV of France, the last produced by the French brand before the return of Adidas. It is already available for sale on the Rugby World Cup website for 300 euros per unit. But how to explain this price?
A limited and 100% French model
This jersey at 300 euros and a collector’s model available in 1,300 copies. Each jersey is numbered. This Fabien Galthié players jersey is 100% designed and manufactured in France. The tailors of Romilly-sur-Seine in Aube assembled the jerseys with textile materials woven in Ardèche.
The color is a combination between the new blue of the French flag and the historic blue of the XV of France. In the collar, it is written: “Our jersey, our history, our country”. This jersey is delivered in a special box.
A high-tech, light and resistant jersey
This jersey will be identical to that worn by the players during the World Cup in September in France. “We tried to win the few percentages that make the difference”, explains on the website of the French Rugby Federation Nicolas Jeanjean, former international and physical trainer of the XV of France. For the staff of the XV of France, “the outfit is also part of the performance.”
This jersey is therefore created from a new high-tech material. It is ultra-resistant and designed to ensure “management of fluids during exercise”. This jersey is also the lightest in the history of the XV of France. Compared to the one worn during the 2019 World Cup in Japan, this 2023 version jersey is twice as light, allowing players to spend less energy on the pitch. “The material is very light and elastic”, confirms Nicolas Jeanjean. Adjustable, this jersey is “fitted very close to the body” and therefore difficult for opponents to grasp.
A replica jersey for the general public at 95 euros
Another replica jersey is available on the French Rugby Federation ticketing site and it is much cheaper than the professional jersey. The replica is sold at 95 euros. Unlike the pro jersey, this one is knitted and dyed in Spain and then made in Morocco.
The material used is not the same either. It is 100% polyester, where the professional jersey at 300 euros is produced in 72% polyamide and 28% elastane.