Winter Sports - Rugby Union


The President, Dave Williams, and his grandson start the new pitches build


“ 64 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014


The new pitches are in a natural amphitheatre


Keith Kent gave me a rather concerned look upon being told that we had not installed a drainage system of any kind. Concern soon turned into relief when I informed him that we had been blessed with thirty feet of pure sand under the new pitches!


of perennial rye grass and smooth stalk meadow grass mix, as this would be a hard wearing and drought resistant combination. We now use a 100% rye grass mix for quick establishment. Having had the soil analysis back this


spring, there is a high phosphate content, which appears to be the nature of the sand, plus a manganese deficiency. I applied a 12:0:6+2% Mn to help remedy these problems. Early in June, I sprayed with seaweed (Maxicrop Triple) to improve root growth and increase microbial activity. In March 2013, following completion of


the pitches, Keith Kent, the RFU Twickenham Head Groundsman, was on a national road trip visiting junior league grounds and we were lucky enough that he paid us a visit. He gave me a rather concerned look upon being told that we had not installed a drainage system of any kind. Concern soon turned into relief when I informed him that we had been blessed with thirty feet of pure sand under the new pitches! The first game played on the new pitches


was in March 2013 (our last league game of the 2012/13 season). This season has been the first full season’s use, having had the


wettest winter in living memory; the pitches couldn’t have performed better. They were never ‘heavy’ and have suffered very little wear, which is testament to the fantastic drainage. As the pitches are quite remote from the clubhouse, it is quite amusing to see the reaction of visiting supporters when they get to the top of the hill and look down on the vast natural amphitheatre.


The Committee Relents


This spring, having the two new pitches to fall back on, the committee felt that they were in a position to allow me to deep cultivate and re-level the original pitches next to the clubhouse. We initially looked at employing the


services of a sportsground contractor to laser level these pitches. After receiving quotations for the proposed works, the club decided that, having made a huge financial commitment to the new pitches, this would be a step too far. I proposed to carry the work out ‘in-house’ and was set the task of bringing together costings and a programme of works. To overcome the layering, root breaks and


Annual meadow grass had overrun the old pitches


A local agricultural contractor rotovated to a depth of 300mm


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