Best Super Rugby Jerseys of All Time: A Nostalgic Look Back
Building on the excitement surrounding the heritage strips released for New Zealand's five Super Rugby Pacific teams in 2024, Classic has raised the bar for 2025. They've unveiled a stunning collection of vintage-style jerseys, crafted in a Temex-like fabric, that perfectly capture the essence of rugby nostalgia. These jerseys are faithful replicas of the iconic 1998 Super 12 strips, transporting fans back to the golden era of late 1990s rugby.
This release inspired us to reflect on our favorite jersey designs for each team throughout the years. From bold colors to timeless patterns, here are our top picks for the best NZ Super Rugby jerseys of all time!
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Blues
The reigning Super Rugby Pacific champions, the Blues, boast some truly classic designs throughout their history. The 2000 jersey, featuring a royal blue base with vertical light blue stripes separated by thin red pinstripes, stands out as a strong contender. It marked the debut of polyester jerseys in Super Rugby and introduced a striking visual contrast.
The 2020 home jersey also deserves recognition. This modern masterpiece showcases a dynamic and contemporary design, dominated by a vibrant blue angular shard geometric pattern.
However, the 1998 design remains the most iconic. Classic has accurately recreated this stunning jersey, which features a striking diamond pattern in black, white, and red at the top, accompanied by a white and then blue panel. It evokes powerful memories of a vintage Blues era, with Jonah Lomu tearing down the wing and Carlos Spencer orchestrating magic from fly-half.
Chiefs
Despite their mid-table finishes in the early years of Super Rugby, the Chiefs sported outstanding kits during the 1990s. The 1998 design, faithfully replicated by Classic, epitomises the bold and dynamic style of the era. The jersey features a striking black base with slashing yellow, red, and blue across the chest, crafted from Canterbury's Temex cotton.
The 1997 jersey, however, is arguably the pinnacle of 90s Chiefs design. Also featuring a black base with horizontal stripes of red and yellow, it's the pixel-like red, yellow, and black squares across the shoulders that truly make this jersey stand out.
While these classics are undoubtedly memorable, the best Chiefs jersey arguably belongs to 2014. This design reflects the team's strong ties to Maori culture through their name and team identity. It showcases a striking gold and red Maori design, telling the story of the Waikato region they represent along the jersey's sides, against a striking black base. It was a fitting jersey for the back-to-back defending champion Chiefs in 2014.
Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have a tendency towards simpler jersey designs compared to some of their rivals. However, there have been a few standout exceptions.
The 2015 jersey is one such example. Although predominantly yellow, the dominance of this color makes it particularly striking. The use of dark blue on the sleeves, sponsor logo, and part of the collar adds contrast, while the sweeping design across the front evokes a sense of swirling winds, reminiscent of 'Windy' Wellington, the city the team proudly represents.
The 2000 jersey, the first Adidas-produced kit for the Hurricanes, is another classic. It features a gold base with bold patches of black and three blue stripes down the side. This design is certainly reminiscent of the glory days of the Hurricanes backline, with Tana Umaga in the centres and Jonah Lomu on the wing.
However, like the Blues, the best Hurricanes kit undoubtedly belongs to the 1998 design, masterfully recreated by Classic. The bold yellow and black color scheme of the jersey remains true to the team, but the design is distinctly retro, featuring a chaotic 'hurricane' pattern of blue and black swirling jagged shapes at the top.
Crusaders
As fourteen-time champions, the Crusaders have a long association with rugby excellence, and their jerseys reflect this history. Several iconic designs are linked to different periods of their dominance.
The 2005 jersey is strongly associated with the mid-2000s Crusaders, a team featuring young stars like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, who won the 2005 and 2008 competitions. This jersey is simple yet elegant, predominantly red with black along the sides and sleeves.
The jersey worn by the three-peat Crusaders of the 2000 season is also iconic. Deviating from the usual red, this jersey consists of a black base with three bands of red across the chest.
However, the best Crusader jersey is arguably symbolic of their most recent period of success. The 2023 jersey features black across the chest and sleeves, with red on the lower part. The two colors seamlessly blend into each other through a mountain pattern across the chest, symbolising the Southern Alps, the mountain range in the Canterbury region they represent.
Highlanders
Last but not least, the Highlanders from the deep South have also produced several iconic jerseys throughout the years.
The design that adorned the 1998 team, who reached their first final, certainly deserves a place on this list. Another bold Canterbury design, and faithfully recreated by Classic, the jersey features a blue base, bands of gold and maroon across the chest, and a maroon patch on the left shoulder featuring cubes of yellow and blue.
Another simple yet effective design is the Highlanders' 2003 Adidas jersey. Featuring a blue base, maroon sides and sleeves, and yellow stripes on the shoulders, this jersey epitomised the popular style of the early 2000s.
However, the best Highlanders jersey arguably belongs to the 2024 edition. Designed by Classic, it is predominantly blue with stripes of maroon and gold on the sleeves. Although basic, it is clean and eye-catching, a testament to the old adage that less is often more.
So there you have it; our picks for the best Super Rugby jerseys of all time. We invite you to share your own favorite jersey designs in the comments section below.
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