The England national rugby union team and Rugby Football Union adopted the red rose as their symbol in 1871, and the rose has appeared on players' kit ever since.

Whatever the origins, the red rose has been the emblem on the England rugby shirt since that first game in Scotland. In the early days, its form often changed but, in 1920 it was standardised and the same design was used until 1998 when it was modernised. Other rugby nations too have stayed with the same emblem from their earliest days.