Ireland women's rugby team request to wear dark shorts over period anxieties

Members of the Ireland women's rugby team have requested to switch to dark shorts over concerns about period anxieties.

In response, team officials have agreed to dropping the white shorts altogether in what can only be seen as a landmark move for women's sport.

More and more high-profile female athletes have opened up about the fears surrounding their periods – particularly during competition time.

From impacting your overall mental state to the concern that blood could show up on sports uniforms, these are all things that women have had to deal with for a long, long time.

But unfortunately, for whatever reason, only recently has the conversation made its way into mainstream media and onto peoples' radars.

Now, in a huge boost for female athletes across the world, the Irish women's rugby team has confirmed they will be making a permanent switch from white to navy shorts in response to the players’ calls.

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"The top way to ensure we perform to our best on the field is by removing any unnecessary distractions," Ireland international Enya Breen said.

"Wearing navy shorts instead of white is such a small thing, but for us it's a big step from [kit supplier] Canterbury and the IRFU.

"Our hope is that it will help women at all levels of rugby feel more comfortable on the field so they can get on with performing at their best in the game that they love."

But this move isn't just happening at the elite level, it seems.

The IRFU has confirmed that kit supplier Canterbury will also be offering amateur, semi-pro and professional teams who initially bought white shorts the chance to exchange them for a pair of a different colour.

As for the Ireland rugby team, it's understood their navy shorts will be debuted against Wales in their opening game of the Women's Six Nations.

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Athletes from other sports have also held similar period fears.

Only last year, Wimbledon announced it would be relaxing its strict all-white dress code to accomodate to women who were going through their menstrual cycle.

Football clubs also got involved, most notably West Bromwich Albion, who became one of the first teams to change their kit altogether to remove white shorts for their women's team.

Topics: Ireland, Rugby, Rugby Union

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry