England, 1996-97

For 470 internationals spanning 125 years, the England national rugby team took to the field without a sponsor’s name adorning the front of their pristine, traditional white jerseys.

This shirt, with ‘Cellnet’ emblazoned across the chest, was the first of its kind thanks to a multi-million deal with the ‘cellphone’ company of that name.

At first, possibly to appease traditionalists, it was only training kit and leisure wear that carried the sponsor’s name. But eighteen months in, that all changed. The term ‘mobile prop’ might not have yet entered rugby’s dictionary but when Graham Rowntree and Jason Leonard ran out in front of 45,000 fans at Twickenham for international number 471 against Italy in November 1996, there was tangible evidence that the RFU had finally embraced commercialism and the new professional age.

The original Cotton Traders ‘Cellnet jersey’, with blue cuffs and collar and narrow blue and red hoops midway down the sleeve, was only worn nine times before Nike took over as the team’s kit manufacturer and other variations came into play, although the name Cellnet and then BT Cellnet was still on jerseys until being replaced by O2 in June 2002.

England christened their first Cellnet jersey with a 54-21 win over the Azzurri and reeled off three more victories, against Argentina, Scotland and Ireland before a defeat to France scuppered their 1997 Six Nations Grand Slam hopes. Back-to-back victories against Wales and Argentina were then followed by consecutive defeats to Argentina and Australia.

As the first of its kind, it deserves iconic status for that reason alone but also for the fact its limited shelf life was bookended by two significant rugby moments. The Italy win was Phil de Glanville’s first as captain after he had controversially been chosen to replace the axed Will Carling, who played alongside him in midfield, while the ninth and final Test, a 25-6 defeat to the Wallabies in Sydney, was head coach Jack Rowell’s swansong.