Latest Sport: Hove Rugby Club – Between a rock and a hard place

When the Olympics came to London in 2012, there was talk about the legacy that it would leave on the country.

Now, another major sports event is coming to our shores.

Next year, the Rugby World Cup comes to the UK and Brighton will host two matches. But will the arrival of the World Cup leave any legacy in the city?

Adam Tunesi is the chairman of Hove Rugby Club and he told us what the RFU Agronomer said about the pitches: “He did a thorough study on the pitches to give us some advice on what needed to be done to bring them back to playing standard. The results of that report were that he decided they were too dangerous to play contact rugby on.

“There are flints working their way up through [the ground] and various sharp stones starting to appear in the surface of the pitch.

“A solution is to put some more top soil on and establish a really good growth of grass and to stabilize the surface. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that on account of it being very dry here.”  
 
The club have been trying to find a solution but find themselves in a tough situation as the ground is council-owned and therefore the club cannot start the process of improvement themselves.

The RFU have pledged significant funds for improvement but still the club are currently in the process of seeking a solution with Brighton and Hove City Council for the remaining money. 

Without this, Hove Park find themselves, quite literally, caught between a rock and a hard place.