A few days ago I decided I needed a new travel mug and almost at the same moment I thought let’s get an Edinburgh Rugby one. How cool would that be? A brief (the only kind) trawl of the Edinburgh section of the SRU shop online revealed that they did not stock anything of that nature.
That then reminded me that once upon a time I thought I’d like an Edinburgh branded umbrella and found that umbrellas are also something Edinburgh fans don’t need for some reason.
I started wondering why is the offering so paltry? What weird and/or wonderful items are we as Edinburgh fans missing out on?
It’s a wide field to explore so for the sake of some brevity I confined my search to items on websites belonging to clubs that we have played this season or in the not too distant past.
The whole thing started with me looking for a travel mug so let’s go down that road first.
Here are a couple from Ulster’s and Newcastle Falcons shops respectively.
Both of these are cracking and if I supported one of these teams i’d definitely have made a purchase.
Neatly following on from there both Wasps and Brive have rather fetching pint glasses in their shops. Saracens go one step further and have red and white wine glasses for sale. They are £26.50 a piece but would certainly be a nice gift.
Perhaps the ultimate gift for the wine connoisseur was fittingly available on Brive’s website.
I know I have Tennents and Rugby World Cup branded glasses in my cupboard along with some Edinburgh/Scotland plastic mugs but would anyone like an Edinburgh rugby pint mug with an etched logo thereon? We are sponsored by Glen Moray but there is no Edinburgh whisky glass. Whilst we are at it would Edinburgh shaped ice cube moulds float anyones boat?
For the better dressed person Falcons, London Irish, and Wasps all have club ties available in their respective shops. I’d love an Edinburgh Rugby tie, maybe not of the bow variety though.
We have a few saffers playing for us and they love a braai and despite our sometimes/always unpredictable weather it’s not unknown for us Scots to have a bbq or two. What better for that than a branded apron to wear whilst wielding the tongs. Here's a couple that you could have if you were a Brive or London Irish supporter.
And after you retire from a busy day, what better than to come home past your club doormat, slip into your branded club dressing gown and recline on the sofa bolstered with cushions emblazoned with the red hand.
And at the end of the evening, and perhaps aimed more at kids, Wasps stock a branded club duvet set.
If you want a dog collar then Sarries have one of those, in fact they have a couple to choose from.
And filed under miscellany Cardiff stock a laptop bag and for the programme collectors Falcons supply a binder for them.
If you are an Edinburgh season ticket holder then you’ll recall that the christmas card we received from the club contained a cardboard cut out tree decoration. Wasps go a step further and actually have a club branded xmas tree decoration in their catalogue.
Lastly, who among us wouldn't want an Edinburgh badge shaped car air freshener? It's a cheap item and would sell easily I would imagine. Here's an example from London Irish that costs a mere £3.50
Ok, it’s a bit of fun but the serious point that underlines this is that there is clearly a market for these items otherwise the respective clubs wouldn't stock them so why aren’t Edinburgh following suit? Sure, some of these items you wouldn't give house room to but I know I see at least 3 or 4 that i’d buy but there is no accounting for taste.
It’s interesting to note that when looking at the different catalogues that the common denominator in having a limited variety of items is that those teams are all supplied by Macron. For example Edinburgh and Cardiff have just 2 pages of accessories for sale, but Ulster and Wasps have so many accessories/gifts for sale they have to list them under category. Wasps have 15 different categories of gift. That's maybe just a coincidence but it does make you wonder.
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