‘Our pitch is awful, it’s like playing in a swamp’

‘Once the frost comes we might as well take a mid season break’

‘Water-logged, our pitch is more suitable for water polo most of the time’

‘We always make sure we’re away to Xyz RFC – their pitch is like a bowling green’

Any of these sound familiar? The location, design and maintenance of pitches can be a constant problem to all clubs, particularly when trying to cater for a number of sides with an intensive fixture programme and provide a suitable and safe environment in which to train. So how can we help to improve our playing surfaces for matches? This section aims to offer some general advice and practical solutions on the rigours of ‘all year round’ pitch maintenance.

Pitches and Pitch Maintenance

As we are well aware, rugby is played at a time of year when the weather is not at its best! Grass growth is minimal and the soil is very wet. More than often grass cover on pitches is seriously eroded by the beginning of the winter and conditions of playing surfaces continue to deteriorate throughout a season, particularly in high wear areas. A combination of a desire to get matches played, (often in extremely poor conditions), poor maintenance, and a lack of resources (time and finance), during both the season and off season results in it being simply impossible to restore the pitch to an adequate quality. The result is a vicious circle of deterioration resulting from poor drainage and compaction.

Drainage Systems

Well drained soil tends to warm up quickly, encourage grass root growth and helps with germination when grass seed is sown. There are five main types of drainage systems currently used and their performance can be quite varied. Table 1 details the type of system along with guidelines for performance levels:

Table 1   Drainage Systems

 

Type	Construction Detail	Time from Const to Use	Life Span (yrs)	games per season	Match Cancellation Rate	Matches Per Week
Undrained	No installed drainage system	n/a	<5 yrs	50-75	10-50%	1.4-2
Pipe Drained	Basic lateral pipe drains at 5m spacing	4 months	<5 yrs	Up to 50	10-50%	>1.4
Slit Drained	Sand/Gravel slit drains at 1m spacings intercepting lateral pipe drains at wide spacings	4 months to 1 year	<5 yrs	50-75	5-15%	1.4-2
Sand Carpet	100mm medium fine rootzone sand overlying an intensively slit drained area	1 to 1.5 years	>15 yrs	75-100	>5%	2-2.8
Suspended Water Table	250mm of medium-fine rootsand overlying a gravel drainage raft	1 to 1.5 years	>15 yrs	>100	>1%	>2.8

It is important to note however that simply upgrading a poorly drained pitch or constructing an entirely new one will not necessarily solve the drainage and usage problems. It is therefore essential that any pitch upgrades or new constructions of playing pitches are designed with estimated intensities of use in mind and the availability of a comprehensive maintenance programme.

Maintenance

The level of pitch maintenance during the season and post season is probably the most critical factor in providing a quality playing surface and prolonging the life of a pitch. With most clubs not having the availability of a full time groundsman (and are lucky if one of the members mows the grass regularly), let alone be verti-drained or top dressed, salvation could be found in the following points which cover a number of essentials for basic pitch maintenance.

• assess damage and levels in areas of most wear. Using a suitable grade sand or rootzone mix work into surface
 • reduce the sward by mowing as close as possible and remove all cuttings
 • scarify the surface using a pedestrian or tractor drawn machine to remove any debris that has accumulated within the surface. This type of debris can cause ‘thatch’ which will hold back grass growth and reduce the movement of water, air and nutrients to the rootzone
 • hollow-coring maybe required in order to remove any build up of ‘thatch’ within the surface and improve drainage. Cores should be removed unless your ground is sandy in which case, brush in using a drag mat
 • a top dressing could now be done to incorporate material into the cores to assist with drainage and root development
 • as mentioned previously a good drainage system is crucial and if your ground is an old one then it is likely that any drainage pipes underneath have crumbled. The easiest solution to try to promote drainage and to relieve compaction is to verti-drain. This is done by large spikes penetrating the ground, which break the rootzone material
 • if ground drainage is generally poor then a sports turf drainage contractor would be able to do the job quickly and efficiently with minimal disturbance
 • if seeding is required careful consideration needs to be given to the types of grass to be grown. Rye grass is commonly used for rugby pitches as it is hard wearing, highly disease resistant, keeps its colour during winter, is easy to cut and has a high shoot density
 • line-marking of pitches always tends to an afterthought however there should be no excuse for a poorly marked pitch. Generally machines are inexpensive and come in various forms, including contact markers, roller-type or more efficient sprayers.

Table 2 provides a checklist covering the previous points and could be utilized as a starting point for pitch maintenance at your club.

Table 2   Rugby Pitch Repair Checklist

Item	Responsibility	Date Completed	Comments
Close mow to reduce sward
scarify surface and sweep
Assess damage, level and work in sand/rootzone mix
Apply suitable dressing
Check drainage solutions
Vertri-drain to relive compaction
Carry out top soil analysis
Apply Correct fertilsers
Select suitable grass seed
Undertake linemarking

Note: Good drainage needs to be supplemented by irrigation where possible to help with germination and grass growth during the closed season.

Surfacing

A decent surface is critical to ensuring player safety as well as the enjoyment of the game. The basic requirement for a surface that is suitable for all standards of the game is that of a firm pitch that is able to take a stud and provide excellent grip. Solid, hard, unforgiving surfaces can often contribute to muscle strains and potential serious injury. The quality of the drainage and maintenance obviously play an important role as previously discussed in helping to provide a decent surface, however it is often the underlying soil that is at the root of the problem.

A vast number of pitches are constructed using local soils in the UK and they often compact quickly particularly in our wet winter climate. Whilst the playing quality for the first few years is satisfactory it is recommended that a piped drainage system is installed to help to displace some of the water.

An alternative system to be used would be sand slit drains as describe earlier which provides drainage at a higher level than pipes alone and therefore helps to drain away surface water and prevent compaction protecting the quality of the surface.

For the best results in maintaining a high quality surface the installation of a carpet sand or ideally a suspended water table irrigation system is advisable. These systems however can be expensive and may not be entirely necessary, depending upon the level of rugby being played at your club. A perfectly adequate quality surface can be achieved with a structured maintenance programme, realistic usage levels and a simpler drainage system.

Further information and support on pitches for your club can be found from:

                Natural Turf for Sport Guidance Note (Sport England, 2000)

                The NPFA Cost Guide on Sport (National Playing Pitches Association)

                National Facilities Strategy for Rugby Union in England

                (RFU, RFUW and Sport England, 2001)

                National Playing Fields Association               

                Stanley House, St Chad’s Place, London WC1X 9HH

                Tel: 020 7833 5360

                Sport England Publications

                PO Box 255, Wetherby LS23 7LZ

                Tel: 0870 5210255