Given the global domination of the sports leisure wear industry of Nike, Adidas and Reebok, it is somewhat surprising that the official supplier to the 1999 Rugby World Cup is Mizuno. The Japanese company has won the rights to manufacture and market a range of RWC clothing with the official logo.
Their designers have already produced clothing concepts for the supporters of France, Italy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Mizuno is currently the official suppliers to the Japanese and Canadian national sides.
More noted for their golfing equipment in Ireland, there is little danger that Irish national team sponsors Nike are about to be usurped. The confusion it would cause when ordering jerseys. "Now could I have a nice V-necked jersey in green, with maybe a couple diamonds in a lighter shade in the middle and a set of cavity-backed irons . . . . Doh."
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