Cheshunt Rugby Club are celebrating the handover and official opening of their new 3G rugby pitch at Rosedale Sports Club. The pitch was officially opened on the 26 April by Eddie Jones, Head Coach since 2015 for England’s Rugby Team.
Established in 1952, Cheshunt RFC was originally formed by pupils attending the Cheshunt Grammar School for boys. In 2004 Cheshunt RFC obtained the Rugby Football Union’s ‘Seal of Approval’ one of the first club’s in the United Kingdom to gain this accreditation.
The new 8664m2 3G pitch was built to World Rugby Regulation 22 standards using TigerTurf’s Rugby 360 artificial grass. TigerTurf won a competitive tender with partners McArdle Sport Tec, and the new pitch was completed in March 2018.
So, what is the RFU’s Rugby 365?
“The RFU (Rugby Football Union) is the national governing body for grassroots and elite rugby in England, with 2,000 autonomous rugby clubs in its membership.
The RFU’s Rugby 365, artificial grass pitch programme is part of its Rugby World Cup 2015 legacy of delivering more than £50m investment over four years into the development of 100 AGPs across England. All of this is supported by the RFU’s 50 Rugby Development Officers, six Area Managers and 120 Community Rugby Coaches across the country, who provide some 30,000 coaching sessions a year for young people.”
Gary Barton, Chairman of Cheshunt RFC commented: “We have suffered for years with pitch deterioration. Our natural turf site is underlain by clay, so becomes very easily waterlogged. With the increased numbers we have seen through kid’s rugby teams, overuse has also become a serious issue.
We have suffered especially over recent years, with the bad weather over the winter months meaning we have had to move, postpone and cancel numerous games. We hope that the 3G pitch will lead to a greater uptake of rugby members in the local area across girls, boy’s men’s and women’s rugby, as well as providing a venue, alongside our excellent new clubhouse, for hosting representative matches. It will also allow us to train all-year round, and to avoid cancelling rugby for our members.”
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