Winter Sports - Rugby Union


We suffer from a high rainfall and windy conditions on a regular basis owing to our location just north of the Lake District


” All hands to the pump, literally, to get the county semi-final game on


conditions on a regular basis owing to our location just north of the Lake District. Frost is also a regular visitor. Two nights of minus 5O


C prior to a match and it’s off.” “The most recent flood of 18th May 2013


will go down in Cumbrian rugby history,” observes John. “A county rugby semi-final was scheduled for this day between Surrey and Cumbria. The victors would go to Twickenham for the final. It started raining


very heavily about midnight during the night prior. By 10.00am on the morning of the match, the pitch was 90% covered in water up to 250mm deep. Knowing the forecast was for the rain to stop at about 2.00pm, a decision was made to attempt to pump off the water using agricultural slurry tankers and portable pumps. To cut a long story short, enough was pumped off to enable kick off at about 4.00pm. Cumbria won and we


went to Twickenham the following weekend, but sadly lost a close match.” Such was the effort put in, John received a


letter of commendation from Bill Beaumont in which he stated; “Thank you for the exceptional efforts of the team of volunteers at your club that (although an hour and a quarter late) allowed play to get underway with a little standing water on the pitch but otherwise in perfect condition”. “We have an annual maintenance


schedule - which we adhere to when the weather is kind enough to allow it!” exclaims John. “The team of volunteers do it all, unless we happen to have secured some RFU funding!”


PC APRIL/MAY 2014 I 51


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