KooGa Rugby Boots

Choosing rugby boots


Soft toe versus hard toe

You will often see boots advertised as either "hard toe" (HT) or "soft toe" (ST), but what does it mean? Hard toe boots have a hard plastic toe box to protect the toes - especially important in close-quarters scrummaging and breakdown situations, to prevent your toes being trampled by other players.

Backline players on the other hand tend to kick a lot more, so soft toe boots are recommended for better feel and thus better control of the ball.

Low cut, mid cut, high cut

Most modern rugby boots are either low cut or mid cut - referring to how high up the ankle they come. Low cut boots tend to favour backline players as they (the boots, that is!) are lighter and allow a fuller range of motion, which translates to speed on the field.

You can still get high cuts but they are not generally worn by professional players. Having said that, they are known to provide extra stability and support for scrummagers with less chance of them coming off, so why not give them a try if you play in the tight five?