16 IOG BEST PRACTICE
the Groundsman January 2013
Light rigging at Twickenham Stadium
King Keith
After Keith Kent, head groundsman at Twickenham Stadium, was recently crowned with
two major groundsmanship awards, Colin Hoskins discovered how the accolades were
just reward for his prowess in not only maintaining "the best rugby pitch in the world" but
also for helping others achieve higher standard playing surfaces
Author: Colin Hoskins
T
he reasons are clear why Keith Kent
last year won the awards for both
the IOG Alex R Millar DLF/Johnsons
Groundsman of the Year and the IOG
Professional Rugby Union Groundsman of
the Year. While he has spent the last
decade managing and maintaining a firstclass pitch at Twickenham Stadium, during
recent years he has also devoted an
inordinate amount of time travelling up and
down the country offering help and advice
to grassroots clubs.
As a result, Keith can reflect with
pride on a successful groundsmanship
career, which started as a school leaver
and initially 17 years at Filbert Street with
Leicester City FC, then 15 years at
Manchester United's Old Trafford
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Stadium before Twickenham's stadium
director, Richard Knight, convinced him
of a move from football into rugby. Plus,
of course, there are the thousands of
miles travelled during the past seven
years or so visiting rugby clubs and
hosting seminars to help professionals
and volunteers alike improve their
grounds in the most cost-effective way.
