Blog Elements - Turf Matters

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Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Rhys Cleverly was on the pitch for Wales’ 2012 Grand Slam and the 2014 Heineken Cup final – but he’s never played a minute of rugby at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Why? Because he’s a groundsman at the home of Welsh rugby. However, that is set to change with Cleverly set to pack down at hooker […]

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Toro machinery is trusted to maintain many premier-league quality pitches, from those at Leeds Rhinos Rugby Club’s Headingley Stadium to West Ham United FC’s London Stadium, and has now been brought onto the superb sporting facilities at St Joseph’s College. The Ipswich-based school purchased two Toros, a Groundsmaster 3280-D and a Reelmaster 5510-D, as well […]

Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Rhys Cleverly was on the pitch for Wales’ 2012 Grand Slam and the 2014 Heineken Cup final – but he’s never played a minute of rugby at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

Why? Because he’s a groundsman at the home of Welsh rugby.

However, that is set to change with Cleverly set to pack down at hooker for Caerphilly against Amman United in the National Bowl final on 16 April.

The Bowl is one of three games on the WRU finals day, 24 hours after the four regions take each other on for Judgement Day.

So Cleverly, a groundsman at the national stadium for the past eight years, has to worry about keeping the pitch in tip-top condition as well as playing in one of the matches.

“We’ve got five games here over two days,” he said.

“On Judgement Day I’ll be there at eight o’clock preparing the pitches.

“As soon as those game finish I’ll be straight back on the pitch preparing it for ours. Luckily I’ve got the Sunday off to play.”

Cleverly says it will be strange mixing business with pleasure.

“I’ve got mixed emotions; I’ll be asking myself am I coming to work or playing rugby? It will be a weird one,” he said.

Another headache for Cleverly and his team-mates will be one of the players lining up against them for Amman United – Wales’ top try scorer Shane Williams.

Williams, 40, has not played at the stadium since June 2012 – when Cleverly was among the team looking after the pitch for Wales’ 30-21 win over the Barbarians.

The ex-British Lion may have scored 60 international tries, but has yet to score a try for his local side this season.

“He’s won world player of the year and class is permanent, form is temporary,” said Caerphilly captain Gareth England. “We’ll have to see what happens on Sunday”.

Neither team has reached the final of the bowl since its introduction in 2009. All of the Division Three teams and Division Two north sides in the Welsh national league compete for the trophy.

To read the original article, click here

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

April 13, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

St Joseph’s College Rugby Festival is a 30-year-old event, which brings the country’s top 16 rugby playing schools and colleges together every October in one of the biggest school tournaments of its kind. The event will be streamed live and, with all eyes on the pitch, there is pressure to get the turf “spot on”, says head groundsman Peter Hamilton. “We’ll be cutting the pitches every day in the lead-up to the Rugby Festival, and with the 5510 I can even cut the pitches in two directions the day before so they look as good as a professional rugby pitch.”

The Reelmaster 5510-D was chosen to perfect the pitches and stands out as the true “favourite”: “The machine is so fast, but also delivers beautiful results. The 5510 cuts the rugby pitches at 30mm and always gives a clean, professional finish,” Peter enthuses.

St Joseph’s rugby first team train and play hard – four times a week to be exact – and up to 70 cricket games take place in a season on the school’s grounds. With such heavy and frequent use, it’s important to maintain the sports surfaces with an efficient machine, which the 5510-D is, according to Peter: “The 5510 has seen us halve our cutting time, and setting it up for cutting is easy with its quick click-in system. Another thing I love is its low fuel consumption, which I didn’t expect from such a large machine.”

The grounds at St Joseph’s College include four rugby pitches, three cricket outfields, and many other sports surfaces that cater to a wide range of sports on offer – from netball, hockey and rounders to tennis, athletics, and cross-country.

Peter says: “We are a big sporting college and require machines which can keep up with it all. When we looked at what was out there, we felt Toro was more than up to the challenge and its competitive prices were the icing on the cake.”

The school chose Toro’s Groundsmaster 3280-D in particular to mow the amenity grass surrounding the college and collect leaves across the entire site, and it’s already making a difference to the grounds team’s daily routine, saving both labour and maintenance time. “Before we had a machine for each job, but now the GM3280 can do both operations and we have more space in the shed,” says Peter.

“With our previous outfront mowers you had to remove grass cuttings manually, but with this one you just reverse, press a button, it tips out the offcuts, and off we go again without even having to get off the machine! Simple things like that, and only having to swap out individual blades instead of an entire cutting deck, are proving to be real time savers.”

Meanwhile, the TYM T433 tractor is the perfect choice for aerating the pitches and relieving compaction. It is powerful enough to pull attachments such as a deep tine aerator without damaging the turf.

Peter is confident that the new machines will “help create surfaces that the girls and boys will continue to enjoy their sport on.” He comments: “Given how they’ve performed already, I’ll definitely be looking at Toro if we decide to expand our kit again in the future.”

Learn more about the products included in this story by visiting http://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Groundsman Swaps Mower For Kit

Pitches Go ‘Pro’ At St Joseph’s College Thanks To Toro

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