TWICKERS WORLD!
Our editor joins Twickenham Head Groundsman, Keith Kent, as he prepares for the England versus All Blacks match
A
s a former enthusiastic amateur rugby player, I finally fulfilled my dream of walking on the hallowed
turf of Twickenham. Unfortunately, not as a player (maybe there’s still a chance to have a run out for the England veterans XV) but as a guest of Head Groundsman, Keith Kent. Keith had invited me down to see, at first hand, his match day preparations for the last of four consecutive home Tests at RFU headquarters. As part of the Investec Challenge series England had already played the Pacific Islanders, Australia and South Africa (suffering a record home defeat). Today it was the turn of the mighty All Blacks. The series began on November 8th
and Keith and his staff had to cope with four international matches, plus training and practice sessions, in the space of four weeks. That any pitch can stand up to that amount of play is a testament to the
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skills and experience of the groundstaff. Keith began his career in
groundsmanship in 1970 when he started as a trainee at Leicester City Football Club’s Belvoir Drive training ground.
He left Leicester City in 1987 to become Head Groundsman at Old Trafford, a position he held for fifteen years before taking on his present role at Twickenham in 2002, just after a new FibreSand pitch was laid. Keith has two full time staff; Assistant Head Groundsman, Ian Ayling, who has been at Twickenham for eleven years, and Andy Muir who has been at the stadium for ten years. When required, Keith can also call upon groundsmen from Merchant Taylors School where Ian’s brother, Richard, is Head Groundsman. For today’s game he is being helped out by MTS’s Mike Gammett for some early morning
mowing and, of course, yours truly. During his time at Twickenham, Keith has been involved in several developments, the most recent being the completion of the new South Stand. The ground now has a capacity of 82,000. The new stand has had a bearing on the way the pitch now needs to be managed. Its sheer size has created more shade and air flow problems, especially during the winter months. The south east corner and the whole length of the west side have been particularly affected. Keith ensured that, during the construction of the new stand, a number of air vents were installed that could be opened to increase air flow across the pitch To help counteract these problems,
Keith researched the use of lighting rigs and, on his recommendation, the RFU purchased six SGL rigs, two in December 2005 and a further four in September
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