Allez les Rouges as France wear red against Scotland

PARIS: Call them Les Rouges. Fifty years of rugby tradition was washed away on Thursday when officials said France would start their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Saturday wearing red shirts.

France, whose usual blue shirt is one of the most iconic in rugby, had a brief flirtation with red shirts in 1958 and 1959 against Australia and Scotland respectively, winning both games, though their usual change strip is white.

"It is one of the colours of our flag," Emmanuelle Gaye, a spokesperson for Adidas told French daily Le Figaro, who published a picture of centre Wesley Fofana wearing the shirt with blue shorts and red socks on Thursday.

"I immediately thought we would be privileged to play with this shirt," Fofana told Le Figaro.