ARGENTINA: The adidas logo was added and the hoops were noticeably larger than four years previously.
AUSTRALIA: Reebok replaced Canterbury and shook things up in a big way. The addition of the Southern Cross constellation as featured on the flag was a nice touch and the green and white sleeve stripes weren't bad, but the gold looked very watered down.
CANADA: The excesses of 1995 were restrained, but the sleeves did feature the crest repeated on a black stripe. Black shorts and socks also changed the look considerably.
ENGLAND: A new deal had been signed with Nike in 1998, but, apart from a discreet red stripe on the collar and on the back of the sleeves, they had refrained from anything dramatic.
ENGLAND (alt): Fiji were the opponents in a quarter-final play-off and so England were forced to change. This look was very pleasing, with the navy, white and red all combining very well.
FIJI: Later years would see Fiji, Samoa and Tonga test sensibilities with design-heavy shirts and this was a precursor to that. Fiji incorporated the country's crest in large format as well as black stripes.
FRANCE: Another country to jump on the Nike bandwagon, which had seen navy added to the normal three colours to give a nice overall look.
IRELAND: Still Nike - this was pretty much the same as their 1995 shirt in short sleeves - but still keeping it neat and tidy too.
ITALY: Changed away from the Italian company Kappa to Cotton Traders, who incorporated the flag colours on the sleeves and socks. A different, one-off crest was employed too.
JAPAN: Finally a change, with the hoops noticeably narrowed.
JAPAN: A meeting with Wales in Cardiff saw Japan looking very like Scotland.
NAMIBIA: Playing in their first World Cup, Namibia sought to include all of their flag colours in a cohesive way. The red socks unbalanced the overall look, to our minds.
NEW ZEALAND: The agreeing of a deal with adidas was a commercial game-changer as the replica and leisurewear market began to change. The German company dispensed with a traditional collar and included the first example of grip tape, while three stripes were allowed again, at least on the socks.
ROMANIA: A more 'lemony' shade of yellow took something from the overall look of the Romanians. Blue shorts numbers outlined in yellow weren't the easiest to make out, either.
ROMANIA: Again paired with Australia in the pool stage, this time Romania changed. As in 1991, red was the favoured second choice, with the navy socks making them look like the Spanish football team.
SAMOA: Having dropped the 'Western' in 1997, they now wore adidas too but it was a plain design.
SCOTLAND: Cotton Traders made the first big change to the Scottish jersey by introducing purple - presumably referencing the thistle - to the sleeves.
SCOTLAND: If the changes to the navy shirt were understated, the same couldn't be said here. Instead of white, a burnt orange jersey was worn against Samoa in the quarter-final play-off and then New Zealand in the last eight. The narrow sleeve hoops were an experiment not revisited.
SOUTH AFRICA: Another country now bedecked in Nike, who modernised the Springbok and introduced some subtle gold trim.
SPAIN: Playing in what is so far their only World Cup, Spain wore something very similar to Melchester Rovers (Roy 'of the Rovers' Race's club) had had in the 1970s. We're not sure if that was the intention of makers Westport, of whom we haven't found a trace since.
TONGA: Canterbury remained as the manufacturers but the shirt - and now shorts - were in a deeper red, with gold as an accent colour rather than white.
USA: It would appear that the IRB had relented in their disapproval of adidas's three stripes, which the USA had on their shirts and shorts. They acted as a natural barrier to the red and navy, giving a good effect.
USA: The red jerseys were worn against Romania with the white used against Ireland and Australia, so we're not actually sure which was first choice and which was second. This probably has a better balance, given the placing of the stripes.
URUGUAY: Relatively plain from the South American country in their first World Cup, the black stripe on the sleeves the only bit of adventure. Presumably local firm S&F, who made the kit in 2003, were responsible for this output too.
WALES: Reebok were now in control of the manufacture, their first major foray into rugby, but they didn't go too mad. The addition of green was welcome as it had been under-represented compared to its presence on the national flag.
With the north/south rotation established, Wales got the chance to host but it was similar to 1991 in that England, France, Ireland and Scotland all got a slice of the pie too. As they had in '91, Australia emerged victorious in what was now a 20-team tournament, albeit with an unwieldy system of five groups of four teams. Proper short-sleeved shirts (rather than the old DIY cut-offs) were now in fashion, with larger contrasting panels appearing on a lot of shirts, which were allowed to have makers' logos again. Shorts numbers were mandated for the last time in what was the first World Cup of the professional era.
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