Winter Sports - Rugby World Cup
“
We are self- sufficient in equipment, but everything has to be street legal. Our two Kubota tractors get to do a lot of road work
College Field, where Richard smoothly switches from rugby to cricket
future generations of exceptional players who would otherwise not have the opportunity of an Eastbourne College education”. It was the Memorial Ground where I sat
chatting to Richard that was to be where the Springboks would put the finishing touches to their pre-tournament training. It is used principally for under-16 cricket and rugby. It is the perfect level playing field, dating back to the late 1940s, when it was bought for Eastbourne College by a group of Old Eastbournians in memory of old boys who fell in both the World Wars. Like most of the school’s sports facilities, it is set away from the main school and, as Richard explains, he and his team spend a lot of their time travelling between them. “We are self-sufficient in equipment, but
Neville Tweed cutting the Memorial Ground pitch in early September
Normally, all the mowing here would be done by gang mower, but time spent boxing-off does undoubtedly make a difference, and it definitely looks better
”
The Eastbourne College grounds team (left to right:) Nigel Cole, Steve Larkin, Piers Cullen (on the mower), Richard Maryan (head groundsman) and Neville Tweed
58 I PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
everything has to be street legal,” he says. “Our two Kubota tractors get to do a lot of road work.” “The school is very much rugby in the
winter and cricket in summer. Only the First XV and First XI pitches are in the main school
grounds, and plenty of hard work each year goes into making the same sports field fit for both. We are very proud of our College Field, but, just now, it’s the Memorial Ground that’s a priority.” In recent weeks, Richard and his team
have, for once, switched the focus of their attention to the Springbok’s training pitch. Richard says it would be pretty good every September, but not this good, he conceded. Since the pitch had been chosen by the Springboks, there had been three pitch inspections there, the first about twelve months ago, by a company contracted to Rugby World Cup called Labosport, which conducted soil sampling, moisture levels and a number of other tests. The first results showed that thatch levels were on the high side, so scarification was stepped up and boxing of cuttings introduced for the first time this summer. “Normally, all the mowing here would be done by gang mower, but time spent boxing- off does undoubtedly make a difference, and it definitely looks better. We wouldn’t usually
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