STIGA has been delivering innovative groundcare solutions to rugby clubs across England. The multi-year partnership with England Rugby reflects STIGA’s commitment to supporting volunteers and grounds teams while helping maintain high-quality playing surfaces from grassroots to elite level.

As part of the agreement, STIGA is rolling out equipment to clubs and sports facilities nationwide, supporting the upkeep of pitches and green spaces across the country…including to Carlisle Rugby Club.

Founded in 1873, Carlisle Rugby Club has been another lucky recipient of STIGA robot mowers.

Bill Glendinning of Carlisle Rugby Club said the club’s new robotic mowers are already saving significant time and costs across its 3.25-hectare site, which includes two full-size rugby pitches, a junior pitch and training areas.

Working alongside a volunteer grounds assistant, Bill said the robots have reduced the need for traditional mowing during peak growing season, freeing up around three hours of staff time per pitch each week while also cutting diesel use.

To engage club members, the club ran a competition to name the robots, resulting in the winning entries ‘MOW MARLER’ and ‘DUHAN VAN DER MOWER,’ inspired by rugby players Joe Marler and Duhan van der Merwe.

After five weeks of operation, Bill said the robots have attracted strong interest from members and visitors, with plans underway to compare turf quality between robot-mown pitches and those maintained using a traditional cylinder mower through the PitchPower inspection programme.

He added, “They have undoubtedly saved us time. So far, it’s a win-win situation for both the club and me, and I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements the robot mowers make to pitch health over the next three years.”

Clubs can still sign up for their free mowers …to read more about the STIGA partnership with England Rugby, and how to sign up, click here: www.stiga.com/uk/stiga-x-rfu

You can read more about STIGA’s autonomous robot mowers and other STIGA products here: www.stiga.com/uk/