Nike to fix rip-off shirts

The manufacturers of England's body-hugging rugby kit have finally admitted what every television viewer knew watching last year's World Cup - there was something wrong with the shirts worn by Martin Johnson's men.

One of the enduring memories of the tournament - apart from Jonny Wilkinson's winning drop goal - was the sight of England players having the shirts literally ripped from their backs.

At the time team and manufacturer resisted calls to have the kit switched back to the more traditional design, insisting that, despite all the shredding, they were all delighted by the new figure-hugging design.

Now, on the eve of this season's Six Nations tournament, Nike has introduced a more durable shirt to withstand the toughest Italian handling on Sunday, admitting that 'production problems' led to a sub-standard performance in the early part of the World Cup.

Following modifications, England will continue to wear the light, short-sleeved shirts - designed for hot, nights in Australia - despite the much colder conditions of the Six Nations tournament.

But the material has been strengthened. Nike spokeswoman Lindsey Sexton-Chadwick said: 'The first match we had problems. They have located that to production problems.

'It has been tweaked to provide greater strength around the arms and the front of the shirt.

'From the feedback from Clive and the team, there is no question they like playing in those shirts because it does make it more difficult for their opponents to tackle them.'

Asked whether it was a problem for the players to wear the shirts in the wind and rain, she added: 'They are running around, aren't they?