SHELFORD RUGBY CLUB, THE DAVEY FIELD

McArdle Sport Tec are delighted to build our 2nd ‘RFU Rugby 365 programme’ pitch at The Davey Field.

Shelford Rugby Club, known to their fans as ‘The Peacock Family’, are celebrating the handover and official opening of their brand new 3G rugby pitch construction at The Davey Field. Thanks to the RFU Rugby 365 programme rolled out across the country, nearly £1million pounds has been invested into the new facilities including new floodlights, fencing and artificial turf.

The new 3G rugby pitch, built to meet World Rugby Regulation 22 standards, will have a positive impact, improving the quality of training and match day experience for those participating at SRFC, but also for the surrounding local rugby partnership. Shelford Rugby Club have been based at The Davey Field since 1965, and secured a 10-year lease with the RFU, allowing the players 12 hours a week on the new facility. The new rugby pitch is available to not only Shelford RFC but also other local rugby clubs, schools, universities, colleges and sports clubs.

So, what is the RFU Rugby 365 programme?

After the Rugby World Cup in 2015, the RFU set out a legacy to invest more than £50m over a four-year period to develop 100 artificial grass pitches within the United Kingdom. The Rugby Football Union wanted to create accessible facilities & increase participation within the sport. It is anticipated that the Rugby 365 programme will create over 50,000 available playing hours, enabling more training sessions and matches to take place. 3G rugby pitches are durable, safe, allow all-year round play, and can withstand extensive usage.

Currently 6 pitches have been built on the Rugby 365 programme, benefiting five new areas. McArdle are delighted to have worked in partnership with TigerTurf to install two of these 3g rugby pitch constructions: Hornets RC and Shelford RC. The RFU have reported that in four months of on-season usage since the initial first three Rugby 365 pitches opened, 250 matches have been hosted and more than 30 festivals of rugby held, with over 20,000 players enjoying these new facilities. Once all the planned artificial grass pitches are built it is estimated that grassroots rugby will see 16,000 brand new members taking up the sport.

“McArdle Sport Tec were a pleasure to work with throughout the project. They delivered a high-quality synthetic rugby pitch conforming to World Rugby standards on time and with no defects. We would recommend all clubs wishing to build a synthetic pitch to use McArdle’s to ensure they get a high-quality facility, delivered by a great team, that will stand the test of time and provide years of enjoyment for club members.”  M.B Mills Shelford Rugby Club