LEEDS Rhinos compete in the Tetley’s Super League from March to October and the Powergen Challenge Cup from February until May. Leeds Tykes play in the Zurich
Premiership, the Powergen Cup and the Heineken cup between September and May.
Having both codes of rugby playing on the same pitch certainly tests our skills of groundmanship, especially when home fixtures are scheduled for the same weekend. The Rhinos play on Friday nights and the Tykes on Sunday nights.
A typical maintenance regime for a dual match week, and weather permitting, is as follows:-
• Monday - divoting and repairing the surface after the Tykes Sunday game, mowing to clean up surface, taking out lines.
• Tuesday - spiking to open up the surface.
• Wednesday - mowing in a different direction.
• Thursday - Rhinos training, scarifying and mowing.
• Friday - mowing and marking out for Rhinos evening games (U-21 and seniors) that start at 5.30pm and finish at 10pm.
• Saturdays - 6am start, surface repairs, 10am Tykes train for one hour, sweep up debris, take out lines and mow.
• Sunday - mow and mark out and prepare for Tykes match at 2.30pm.
To reduce the damage from pre-match training drills, particularly ladder work, we have an improvised training area. We have an old piece of artificial grass carpet with ladders painted on. This carpet is pegged out on the pitch for the players to use. It does make a big difference. I have three staff who help me prepare and manage the stadium and training pitches. Ryan Golding (18) is based at the stadium, Alan Wright (48) and Dave Bromley (20) look after the training grounds, with me overseeing all operations.
The club owns a two pitch academy training ground, the old Leeds RFU ground, and has recently acquired a 30- acre site that provides additional pitches for training.
I have been here at Headingley for eleven years and have been Head Groundsman for the last five. I took over from Keith Boyce who taught me many valuable lessons in the art of groundmanship management, both on and off the pitch. His assistance and guidance have helped me manage this facility and get the respect and understanding from both the management and playing sides of the two clubs. There is a difference between the two codes of rugby, especially in their approaches to training and playing. My goal is to produce the best playing and
“I must have one of the most unique challenges facing a stadium groundsman” JASON BOOTH
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