Vintage Canterbury of New Zealand Rugby Shirt - Navy, Red and Kelly Green

Canterbury was founded in 1904 by John Lane, Pringle Walker and Alfred Rudkin, in the New Zealand province they named it after. The logo is three kiwi birds forming the letters CCC, Canterbury Clothing Company, one bird for each founder. They made military uniforms in the First World War before taking on the All Blacks kit.

Canterbury later made shirts in a good many countries; this one carries the New Zealand label.

Built for the game and not the look of it: heavy cloth, a rubber-buttoned placket that will not come away in a scrum, and a twill collar stiff enough to stand up on its own. That is why rugby shirts read as clothing rather than as sportswear thirty years later.

52% cotton, 48% polyester. Single stitch, which puts it before the mid-nineties.

Measured flat, in inches: chest 38, length 26, sleeve 21, shoulder 19. Tagged 40, and it measures under that.

Condition: great, with one exception. A button is missing from the placket. Everything else is sound.

Modern size: Fits like a modern Women's S or Men's S.

One of one. Sold as found.

No returns - as is.