Why Wales and Ireland may have played their last World Cup match up in red and green

Wales or Ireland may have played their last Rugby World Cup match in red and green.

World Rugby is planning to introduce new laws that will ban red-green kit clashes to help people with colour vision deficiency.

The change has already happened in football. Last year the Welsh football team chose to wear their yellow away kit against Ireland in order to avoid a colour blind kit clash.

The change is now also due to be introduced in rugby at the next World Cup in 2027. It has not yet been confirmed whether it will eventually be rolled out for Six Nations matches.

Around one in 12 globally affected by colour vision deficiency compared to one in 200 women.

Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, said “Colour-blindness is largely misunderstood and the challenges for those who play, coach, officiate and support our sport is often overlooked.

“As someone who experiences those challenges first hand, I am delighted that World Rugby is marking Colour Blind Awareness Day 2021 by launching comprehensive guidance for all levels of the game that place visually-impaired considerations at the heart of our decision-making.

“Through this guidance, we hope to raise awareness and change culture through positive actions that don’t just address some of the more obvious challenges such as kit colours, but consider the whole match-day experience whether that be wayfinding, digital signage, branding or ticketing.”