Canterbury OFFFIELD 2023 Autumn Winter

Canterbury OFFFIELD 2023 Autumn Winter

Exclusive Collection With Brooks Brothers

Collaboration with Gloverall

Canterbury’s history with the birth of rugby

Rugby is said to have started in 1823, when William Webb Ellis started running towards the goal with the ball in his arms during a football match. Thereafter, each town, school and team played the game according to its own rules, but the basic official rules were gradually developed. Then, in 1871. The sport of rugby was almost completed in its present form. The international governing body of rugby, WORLD RUGBY, designates this year as the ‘birth year of the game of rugby’. Rugby has an image of being an intense physical game, almost like martial arts, but it is also a sport that requires the use of the brain. As a sport that nurtures people with intelligence, technique and physical strength, it spread around the world, starting in England in the late 19th century. In England, the birthplace of rugby, rugby was positioned as an indispensable ‘gentleman’s education’ for the development of respectable members of society.　In 1904, the Radkin Company, founded by Mr and Mrs Radkin of Christchurch, and a small woollen mill established by two Scots, John Lane and Pringle Walker, merged. A new company, LWR Ltd, was formed, which later became Canterbury International. It was not until after the First World War that Canterbury began to take a serious approach to rugby. John Lane was commissioned by a rugby-loving friend to make rugby jerseys, which became so well known for their exceptional durability and comfort that the company began supporting the NZ national team’s uniforms in 1924. As NZ Rugby developed into one of the world’s strongest nations, the Canterbury rugby jersey also evolved remarkably. The concept has always been ‘The World Toughest Active Wear’. Canterbury has always been close to the history of rugby.