Players wore loose floose-fittingitting cotton shirts, buttoned at the neck and with collars at first and then it changed into Polyester moisture management fabric (breathable) used for rugby jerseys. These days there are no limits to the design or colours preferred. Smaller and nonexistent collars, round or V-necks are preferred so as to prevent opponents to grab them.

Figure 5: The first rugby jerseys had collars and were very dense Figure 6: The new jerseys are more breathable and eccentric with their designs

The style and design of these boots including stud type, material and length were all up to the producer as no rules were in place for governing the type of boots players had to use, However, most were produced like this with wooden soles nailed onto the boot and leather studs fixed onto those.

Nowadays, new technology and designs are always coming out and some of the newest is the rubberized inside of the boot to allow greater control when kicking, they also incorporate thinner fabrics and lighter overall designs to try and aid the professionals where every difference counts.

Figure 7: Original boots were very bulky and provided no advantages Figure 8: Boots these days are slick and can help players with certain aspects of the game

The scrum cap was first used by the Christ's College Finchley's 1st XV, and Eurig Evans is credited with its design. The traditional scrum cap was constructed of a thin cloth helmet with padding over the ears, held in place by a strap—but modern models are typically made from thin foam.

Figure 9: Old scrum caps made of leather Figure 10: New scrum caps provide better protection for players

The mouth guard began its path to becoming a sports staple at the turn of the 20th century in London. Woolf Krause, a London dentist, came up with the first mouth guard in 1890. He called it a gum shield, and many people in the UK still use this term interchangeably with the term mouth guard. Krause created the first mouth guard using gutta-percha, the latex rubber produced from the sap of the gutta-percha trees.

In recent years there has been a rise in a new form of mouth guard technology creating high-heat and pressure-laminated mouth guards made from ethyl vinyl acetate dental plastic. Many companies began experimenting with thermo-plastics which eventually led to the boil-and-bite method you see in many mouth guards.

Figure 11: Modern mouthguards are often custom made using a mould Figure 12: The first mouthguards were made of gutta-percha