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 The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is to fund the installation of synthetic playing surfaces at up to 30 leading clubs across England by 2006. McArdle AstroTurf has been selected as a framework partner for the scheme, which is part of the RFU’s £9m Community Club Development Programme. In the first round of funding this season, the company has been commissioned to deliver training pitches for three clubs.
McArdle AstroTurf is also working with officials at each of the clubs to assist with the local authority planning process as well as pitch design, construction and ongoing maintenance. The pitches will use McArdle AstroTurf’s AstroPlay® synthetic playing surface, which has been developed to withstand the demands of high impact and abrasive sports such as rugby.
The Community Club Development Programme, funded through Sport England, has come on stream at an ideal time for the rugby to take advantage of the interest generated by England’s success in the World Cup. The RFU has a strategy to increase participation in all areas and levels of the game. Terry Burwell, the RFU’s Director of Operations and Community Rugby, said of the strategy: “England becoming World Champions is a huge boost to the sport. We are already seeing an upsurge of interest at all levels and a conservative estimate is 10,000 new participants. We are determined to build on the legacy of World Cup success.”
At a worldwide level, the International Rugby Board (IRB) is developing product and performance criteria for synthetic surfaces. The process, similar to that already completed by FIFA for artificial soccer pitches, is designed to provide an accepted standard for rugby up to international level. “Rugby is an extremely demanding sport for the synthetic surfaces industry,” said Trevor Luker from McArdle AstroTurf. “The physical nature of the game means that pitches take more of a pounding from players than most other sports. But equally, the surface has to allow players to tackle and be tackled without burns or injuries. The new generation of synthetic surfaces provides this mix of characteristics.”
Because AstroPlay® has a low abrasion index and low slide resistant fibre construction, it is an ideal synthetic surface for demanding high impact sports. It provides a grass-like ball response and can be played on in standard studded footwear.
Alan Buzza, Director of Rugby at Loughborough University, where an AstroPlay® pitch was installed in 2002, commented: “Since we started using the pitch, it has received nothing but praise and, more importantly, has opened up a new dimension for our players who, hitherto, would have scoffed at the whole idea of playing rugby on a synthetic turf.”
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