Ranking all the Wasps Home Shirts 2014-2021

With the release of Wasps' 2021/22 home kit last week, I decided to put together a short article ranking all the home shirts since the move to Coventry in 2014. For the sake of technicality, I have included the 2014/15 shirt despite the fact that Wasps' move occurred in December 2014, e.g. several months into the 2014/15 campaign. From the get go, I will put out the following disclaimer: this is a ranked list based on my personal opinion and therefore I would ask that if you disagree, which you are more than entitled to do, please be respectful.

8. 2019/20 Home Jersey

Under Armour's fifth offering of a Wasps home jersey wasn't necessarily poor but in many ways it lacked uniqueness and smacked of being just a little bit...well, boring. The black and gold stripe design on the shoulders and upper arm had been used before (in 2016/17) albeit then they had been down both sides of the shirt rather than across the shoulders. The solid black front of the jersey had been used to greater effect on the 2017/18 anniversary jersey. Therefore, perhaps something more elaborate would have been better this time. Overall, not a bad shirt with a very definite Wasps look about it but hardly unique.  

7. 2016/17 Home Jersey

 

If this was an article ranking the home shirts based on the success we had whilst wearing them, I would have placed this one at the top of the list. After all, it was at the end of the 2016/17 season that Wasps topped the table and reached our first Premiership Final since 2008, agonisingly losing out in extra time. In design terms though, this shirt doesn't quite reach the same heights. It was our introduction to a black and gold band design which ran down either side of the shirt and it was ok, although for me it appeared a little...clunky. I did, however, really admire the gold ring that ran around the neck and this feature saves it from finishing last on this list! If I admire anything about this jersey, its the memories made whilst it was worn, but the design itself is a bit limp.

6.  2014/15 Home Jersey

The 2014/15 Home Shirt was the final outing for Kukri as official kit suppliers of Wasps RFC. For me, this jersey holds a very special place in my heart as it was the first one I ever bought as a supporter of the club. Again, if I was ranking based on nostalgia, then this would have been nearer the top of the list. But if I compare it, design wise, to the shirts higher on this list it simply isn't as good. Most of the detail on the shirt happens around the chest area and, to be fair, the effect is pretty good. Below that though there is absolutely nothing going on and unlike the anniversary jersey the material doesn't really support that sort of look; to me the material was poor quality. A goodish shirt but, were it not for the fact it was my first one, its not one I would really shout too much about. 

5. 2020/21 Home Jersey

    

The next two shirts were very difficult to choose between - both have qualities that I really admire and others that I don't. The 2020/21 home shirt lost out, just, but it is still a top shirt in my opinion. The gold bars that run along the shoulder breaking up the pattern are an awesome touch and, for me, look better than the black and gold effect of the 2019/20 shirt. As with the 2016/17 jersey, I like the gold band that runs around the neck. The best bit of the shirt is the honeycomb effect - that is really cool. The one aspect that lets this shirt down slightly is the neck shape which begins as a circle before dropping into a V neck. That is hideous! There is also an unnecessary drop of the logo and sponsor on the right and left hand sides, although the location of the Wright Hassall company logos work well. Overall, a pretty decent attempt at a home jersey from Under Armour.

4. 2015/16 Home Jersey

 

Ranking the 2015/16 home jersey 4th in the list will not go down well with some supporters as this one has divided opinion immensely. For me, though, the shirt's upside down T shape makes it stand out completely from the shirts lower down on the list and makes it therefore the most unique shirt in the whole list. As well as the T Shape golden band, I also liked the gold strips on the shoulder that break off close to the neck before moving in opposite directions. The shirt was also fitted with a grip texture which aided players catching and securing the ball. At the time, the shirt seemed to me quite radical and indicated a clear new direction for Wasps home shirts. It remains one of my favourites. 

3. 2018/19 Home Jersey 

   

The 2018/19 home jersey marks a bit of a shift in this list as I feel from this point on the jerseys move towards some of the best sports shirts I have ever seen. For a long time prior to the 2018/19 season, many Wasps supporters had been calling for a return to a hooped design familiar to those of pre-Coventry Wasps days. The 2018/19 jersey half answered those wishes, featuring a hooped effect on the bottom half of the shirt. The chest area was left jet black - logo and sponsor positioned perfectly at chest height on either side. On the shoulders there ran a solid gold block on either side from the neck down the sleeve. Collectively, this worked. It just worked. It is a shame that it was while wearing this kit that Wasps slumped to their worst league finish since they moved from Wycombe!

2. 2017/18 Home Jersey (The Anniversary Jersey)

 

The more astute or critical reader will recall me criticising the 2019/20 home shirt for being 'a bit too simplistic' and boring. Yet, there is nothing at all more simplistic than this anniversary jersey. For the most part there is very little going on on the shirt - no upside down T, no hooped feature and no gold blocks. In fact, there is very little of the all important gold at all! However, what it lacks in detail it makes up for in other areas. First and foremost, there is a logo change; the three legged Wasp with gold background was replaced by a slightly larger fully golden four legged Wasp with no background. This particular Wasp was rather endearing for the older fan base as it mirrored the Wasp adorned by jerseys of the 1990s. For newer fans it was a refreshing change and worked really really well against the all black shirt. The other aspect of the shirt that I really like is the white band around the neck. Whilst the gold bands work too, the "opposites" effect of white on black is very effective and catches the eye.    

1. 2021/22 Home Jersey

The 2021/22 edition is the best home jersey design by some way since the move to Coventry in 2014! The small gold bands which form sliced-in-half hexagonal shapes across the upper half of the jersey are refreshing and modern looking, as is the small golden bars around the edge of the sleeve. The new logo, which I admit did not like at first glance, in fact works incredibly well on the new design; maintaining the Wright Hassall logo on both the right and left hand sides of the shirt is impressive in appearance. The only slight disappointment is that the hexagonal effect was not used on the bottom half of the shirt. That remains blank. That said, it could be said that to bring the design all the way down might have imposed too much detail over all. General impression therefore is that this is a great first shirt from Hummel, the best of the Coventry years so far, and so I am anticipating many years of high quality home shirts to come. 

To conclude, for me any shirt that adorns the Wasps logo is a good shirt, despite my personal likes and dislikes in the design features! Let me boldly claim here that the new 2021/22 home shirt stands out to me as the best of the Coventry era, principally because I feel the perfect balance has been struck between design detail and simplicity.