Wales and Ireland will no longer compete in their red and green kits. (Image: Getty.)
The red of and green of are synonymous with each nation, both when the two teams lock horns in classics and across their respective cultures.
However, for the first time in the history of the rugby championship, red and green jerseys won’t take centre stage at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Starting in 2025, Six Nations teams are banned from kit clashes which could negatively impact colour-blind viewers.
Red-green colorblindness is the most common form of the condition, affecting around one in 12 men and one in 200 women globally, making matches such as Wales vs Ireland difficult to watch for those who suffer from colour vision deficiency (CVD).
In the UK there are approximately three million colour-blind people, approximately 4.5 per cent of the entire population, most of whom are male.
And new World Rugby rules state that when a kit change is necessary due to a clash, the away team switches to another jersey.
Ireland will wear white shirts as they look to hand a record 15th consecutive defeat to Wales, who and placed Matt Sherratt in interim charge.
Ireland were victorious in green a year ago. (Image: Getty)
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The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) faced criticism when they declined to switch to their alternative black jerseys for the reverse fixture in Dublin a year ago, claiming that it would not have curbed the issue.
WRU CEO Abi Tierney has insisted that addressing such problems for colour-blind fans is a top priority and “regrets” not dealing with their concerns sooner, confirming the key kit changes.
“Kit colour clashes do change the way you watch a game and I have absolute empathy with those whose enjoyment is affected as a result,” said Tierney a year ago.
“Of course, this is an emotive issue and red is such a traditional colour for Wales, just as green is to Ireland. Change strips always take a bit of getting used to and they can be ‘marmite’ to supporters.
“Our current alternate kit is black, and we have used green in the recent past. Neither of these examples help with this issue and, additionally, the colour red in Wales is not just traditional but a part of our culture.
“We recognise that this is a serious issue for many fans and we are taking it very seriously ourselves.
“It is regrettable that we haven’t reached a resolution to suit all this season, but I can confirm we are fully committed to correcting that in the next kit cycle.”
The same kit rules are also expected to be in place at the 2027 .