Castore Confirmed As New England Rugby Kit Supplier In Long-Term Deal

British sportswear brand Castore has been confirmed as the new England Rugby kit supplier after a ‘long-term’ deal was announced on Wednesday.

Following five years of Umbro jerseys and training kit, England Rugby will don a new logo. For the first time, Castore has been chosen to manufacture the national team’s kit.

Castore and the RFU have signed a long-term, ‘multi-year’ contract that will see it deliver all technical playing kit, training wear and travel clothing across England’s men’s and women’s teams.

The brand will also supply kit and clothing to coaches and staff throughout the England Rugby setup, uniting players and staff under ‘a single, high-performance identity’.

In a statement on the England Rugby website, Castore was described as ‘the leading British performance sportswear brand’.

With the senior men’s team touring Argentina over the summer and the Women’s World Cup on home soil, the new kits will get plenty of exposure.

England Rugby Bosses Delighted With Castore Kit Deal

Speaking as news broke of the deal, RFU CEO Bill Sweeney said: “We’re really pleased to be announcing our partnership with Castore, a brand born in the North West of England by entrepreneurs Tom and Phil Beahon.

“It’s an exciting time for English rugby and we know how much it means for all our players to put on an England shirt – they will wear the new Castore kit with pride.

“We look forward to working with Castore over the coming years and welcome them to the England Rugby family as a much valued partner.”

The new Castore England Rugby kit will be available from May. It will be sold through both the England Rugby Store and directly via Castore.

Who Owns Castore?

Castore was founded in 2015 by brothers Thomas and Philip Beahon.

Headquartered in Manchester, it now sells sportswear globally and supplies kit to a vast number of teams.

Partnerships include football, rugby, Formula One teams and tennis players.

Both brothers played high-level sport before creating Castore. Tom played professional youth football for Tranmere Rovers, while Phil was a semi-professional cricketer for Cheshire and Lancashire.

They left their playing careers in 2013, moving to London in order to work in finance, with the goal of earning enough money to set up a sportswear brand.

Castore Kit Issues

But while the brand has grown rapidly in the decade since its founding, there have been some widely-reported problems.

In 2023, players at Premier League side Aston Villa complained about the quality of their Castore match shirts.

In particular, the fabric used – composed of 90% polyester and 10% elastane – was notable poor at wicking away sweat and moisture.

This led to shirts becoming heavy, clingy and giving a ‘wet-look’ appearance.

The Villa women’s team especially cited this as a major concern, with the club eventually cutting ties with Castore in January 2024.

Issues with the quality and durability of Castore kit also resulted in Newcastle United ending their partnership with the manufacturer.

Major complaints included fans reporting replica kit which was misprinted and ripped easily, with others waiting excessively long for orders to be delivered.