World Rugby’s move to help colour blind fans means that one of the teams now wears an alternative kit in their Six Nations encounters
There’ll be something different about Ireland and Wales’ annual Six Nations encounter in Dublin this weekend, and it’s not just that this Six Nations fixture is set to take place under the Friday night lights.
Instead, this change will become apparent as soon as the players take to the Aviva Stadium turf, as Wales will not be playing in their traditional red shirts.
While the two sides have traditionally met wearing their famous red and green jerseys, since last year one of the two sides has been obliged to switch to an alternative strip – as Ireland did last season, wearing white shirts at the Principality Stadium.
But this change has nothing to do with sportswear suppliers showing off their latest change strip, as they often do in the Autumn Nations Series. Instead, it’s part of a World Rugby initiative to help players, officials and fans with colour vision deficiency (also known as colour blindness) tell the two opposing teams apart. Let us explain…
Read more: How to watch Six Nations 2026: broadcasters, TV and streaming guide
World Rugby’s colour blindness guidelines
World Rugby rolled out its “colour blindness in rugby” guidelines in 2021, and since the start of 2025 they’ve been policy for all of the governing body’s rugby competitions.
Around one in 12 men and one in 200 women have CVD, meaning a sizeable proportion of the rugby community is affected. Distinguishing between red and green can be particularly difficult if you’re colour blind, so the move should improve the Ireland v Wales match day experience for thousands of fans.
World Rugby’s colour blindness guidelines cover much more than encounters between red and green, however, stating that “to minimise the risk of a clash, one team should play in a dark kit and the other in a light kit”.
World Rugby also recommends that teams who primarily play in a dark colour should select a light away kit (and vice versa), adding that “primary and alternate kits should be able to play against each other without causing a colour blind kit clash”. Teams should also try to ensure that any pattern on the shirts is spread across the entire jersey (not just front or back), and that numbers contrast sufficiently with the background.
Even socks are covered by the new guidance, and must not only be distinguishable from each other – efforts should also be made to avoid potential CVD clashes with the pitch.
Macron Wales away shirt | £81.99
Having previously used a black change strip, Wales now have a white away shirt to help them comply with World Rugby’s colour blindness rules.
What do the changes mean for the Six Nations?
Wales’ and Ireland’s match at the Principality Stadium last season marked the first time the rule change had been enforced in the Six Nations, with Ireland wearing a white kit for that encounter.
The two teams will now have to give their traditional jerseys a week off every other season, just as the competition’s three teams in blue (France, Italy and Scotland) have been doing for decades.
Until last season it was the home side who wore their alternative strip in the Six Nations, but since 2024 the tournament has taken the football approach, allowing the hosts to stay in their traditional colours. This means that Wales, as this week’s visitors, will be the team to change kit in 2026, presumably in their predominantly white away shirts.
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