To avoid a clash for colour-blind supporters, Saracens and Sale Sharks will wear their away kits in the Premiership Final.

Because Saracens finished top of the table during the regular season, they would have donned their black home strip in the final, with Sale in their away attire of red and maroon.

Away kits in the Premiership Final

However, Colour Blind Awareness highlighted that a colour combination of black and red is among a kit clash to avoid.

Saracens will now wear their white away kit in the final at Twickenham on May 27 with Sale in maroon, offering a clear colour contrast for spectators and the television audience.

“We are delighted that Premiership Rugby and the clubs have taken positive steps to avoid kit clash situations for colour-blind fans and players,” Kathryn Albany-Ward, chief executive of Colour Blind Awareness, said.

“Bearing in mind the significant number of colour-blind people (one in 12 men and one in 200 women) who watch and play rugby, it is important that the accessibility needs of these groups are recognised to enable all fans of the sport to have a positive viewing experience that isn’t limited by avoidable colour clashes.”

Premiership Rugby’s head of broadcast Ollie Lewis added: “Our clubs have been overwhelmingly supportive of our ambition to eliminate kit clashes, with a collective desire to increase inclusivity of our sport to all audiences.

“There is no better example than the Gallagher Premiership Rugby final to highlight the importance of this issue, and we look forward to continuing to work with Colour Blind Awareness to ensure that we continue to make our league as inclusive and accessible as it can be.”

Southern Hemisphere unlikely to follow

This comes after South Africa and New Zealand hit back at World Rugby, who adopted a policy to wear either ‘light’ or ‘dark’ kits from 2025.

The two Southern Hemisphere nations were not pleased by the move as the pair would likely play 50% of their matches in their alternate kits, undermining their respective brands.

“While SA Rugby supports World Rugby’s ambition to make rugby as inclusive as possible, we have serious reservations about the potential impacts the application of the colour-blindness regulations may have, and believe they need further interrogation,” SA Rugby chief Rian Oberholzer disclosed in an email to the Daily Maverick. 

“For instance, it would mean that the Springboks and All Blacks would never meet again with both in their primary colours at any World Rugby event. 

“The guidelines say that: ‘If only one person watching on the sidelines of the school field is having trouble following some elements of the game due to an avoidable kit clash, then rugby is letting them down.’

“But we believe that some or all of the 11 out of 12 males and 199 out of 200 women who are not colour-blind (on the statistical base presented) may also feel let down if the time-honoured traditions of the game are lost, setting aside the potential damage to the equity established in those colours and brands over centuries.

“We believe the impact on the game’s broader support base also needs to be considered. We will continue to engage with World Rugby on the subject.”

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