CHARLES SALE’S SPORTS AGENDA
TWICKENHAM head groundsman Keith Kent remains remarkably calm about the possibility that today’s World Cup opening ceremony may damage his pristine pitch, which will stage 10 games during the tournament.
The dress rehearsal for the £1million ceremony took place on Wednesday night in atrocious conditions, with 17mm of rain falling on the surface at rugby’s headquarters that day. More bad weather is forecast for West London tonight before England’s opening game against Fiji.
Yet Kent was delighted at the way his Desso pitch — natural grass and artificial fibres — coped with the downpour as well as all the people and props needed for the 20-minute ceremony. The pitch showed only superficial surface marks when all the event paraphernalia had been removed.
By the time England arrived to train on the pitch yesterday there was no sign that there had been a rehearsal 24 hours earlier and Kent said: ‘The Desso pitch drains remarkably well and I’m sure it will do so again if we get similar weather or worse on Friday.’
Kent was head groundsman at Manchester United before moving to Twickenham and disagrees with his former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who is adamant rugby union causes more damage to United’s playing surface than rugby league — hence three planned Rugby World Cup games at Old Trafford were moved elsewhere. Kent said: ‘There would have been no problem. United’s Desso pitch can cope with either rugby code equally well.’
ENGLAND rugby choose not to put up captain or coach to face the media the day before a match — as is the custom in other major sports — because they named their team earlier in the week. Ironically, the eloquent Tom Wood (right), chosen to talk to the press on World Cup eve, was favourite to be named captain when Stuart Lancaster became head coach before his injury let in Chris Robshaw. WORLD rugby are reviewing their commercial operation prior to the Japan 2019 World Cup, including the appointment of a new agency with specialist knowledge of the Far East. Since the first World Cup in 1987, World Rugby have been represented by IMG, whose monopoly position has not impressed rivals. World Rugby say their last agency tender for 2007 and 2011 had the option for the 2015 event as well.
WALES are upset that World Rugby ‘leaked’ their latest injury to their own in-house news operation. When Eli Walker was ruled out on Monday, Wales had to notify the ruling body and it is claimed that they then passed on the information to their Rugby News Service without telling Wales. An agency saw the story on the RNS online feed and it was out there before Wales had even prepared a statement. They then had to bash out a three-line release at 8.50pm, when they had planned an announcement for the following day.