England will soon be donning state-of-the-art technology for their eighth kit in three years — designed to give them an evasive edge on the field.
The new red and black-coloured autumn kit is purported to use camouflage technology that will ‘mask player movement’.
The alternate dark grey jersey for the 2017/18 season will be used against Argentina in the opening autumn international at Twickenham on November 11 before being discarded by the RBS 6 Nations champions.
It features a ‘fiery red fade’, designed to blur the ball-carrier as opposition players move in for a tackle.
England have unveiled their new dark grey alternate Test kit for the 2017-18 campaign
The design, manufactured by Canterbury, is said to adhere with head coach Eddie Jones’ vision of playing ‘disruptive and uncompromising’ rugby.
But perplexed scientists were last night questioning whether the designs will make any difference at all.
Professor Wendy Adams, an expert in human visual perception at the University of Southampton, said any gain from the fading design is likely to be lost by the highly-visible O2 logo on the shirt fronts.
England will don their new strip at Twickenham on November 11 when they host Argentina
England’s women will wear their strip against Canada at The Stoop on November 21
She told The Telegraph: ‘The dark grey of the colour of the fabric could, in principle, reduce the salience of visual contours, such as shadow boundaries within the players’ bodies, when compared to a white kit, for example.’
She added that the gradual change from grey to red could also be less likely to draw attention when compared to a sharp grey-red boundary.
While camouflage is designed to conceal objects from detection by softening their boundaries and using confusing boundaries, its value diminishes with movement.
An alternative type, known as ‘dazzle camouflage’, can be used to make it difficult to judge positions of movement — used similarly by the Royal Navy ships during the First World War.
The men’s official Test Jersey (pictured) will cost £95 to buy while the women’s retails at £70
Professor Adams added the new England shirt design may have taken inspiration from this concept.
Makers Canterbury claim the kit is ‘inspired by distraction principles’, supports Jones’ ‘vision to be more disruptive and uncompromising on the field’ and makes it ‘harder to distinguish aspects of the body during the tackle’.
The total kit will cost £140, a price made up mainly of the £95 outlay for the Test replica shirt, although alternative versions are available at £70 and £65.
But fans have voiced their disapproval of the new kit, blasting it as a revenue-raising stunt.
The RFU insists the new shirt continues the standard policy of releasing two each season, with World Cup versions carrying sponsors logos adding to the total.