Getting shirty: England told to sort numbers out
WORLD CUP organisers have warned England they face a potential fine if they fail to fix their peeling shirt numbers.
The white numbers on the controversial black jerseys began to rub off during England’s opening victory over Argentina.
Rugby World Cup Ltd have said they will be seeking assurances from England that there will be no repeat in Sunday’s Pool B encounter with Georgia.
A lack of clear shirt numbers breaches the tournament participation agreement. It is not just fans and broadcasters who need clear numbers but also referees, touch judges and anti-doping officers in order to identify players.
A Rugby Football Union spokesman said: “There was an issue with the bonding of the numbers to the shirts and we will work with Nike this week to ensure the problem is rectified.”
Meanwhile, Chris Ashton, Nick Easter and Ben Foden recovered from England’s victory over the Pumas with an extreme sports outing in Queenstown including bungee jumping and jetboating.
“We’ve been together since the beginning of June and the guys haven’t had a lot of time to enjoy each other’s company. This is an opportunity for them to do a few things and actually be together,” explained coach John Wells.