Rugby Football Union Pitch Maintenance

The aim is to provide an even surface, without significant undulations, allowing players to run without fear of stumbling. The surface and especially the root system must provide a good grip for scrummage, a maul, a ruck, tackling and turning. The size of a scrum pack will depend on age group and standard of play, but for one adult team the total mass of bodies forming a scrum could readily be in the range of 800-900kg; the force exerted from the scrum will be considerable and it is essential that the strength of the grass and root binding strength is able to withstand this interaction between players and ground.