Meet Ed Mowe. If names offered a clue to one’s profession, then Ed is no exception. He’s the Head Groundsman at ten times English champions Leicester Tigers Rugby Club. 

Having taken over the role last December, Ed’s career has seen him work on the grounds at Leicester City Football Club for 17 years and three years at England FA’s St George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent. Tigers’ famous Welford Road stadium regularly houses 20,000 plus fans roaring-on their team with its pitch often facing the brunt of a busy, battling rugby season.

Luckily, Tigers’ official partner STIHL has a multitude of equipment ideal for the task at hand. So we caught up with him to find out just what his job is about.

“STIHL is one of the biggest names in the game for maintenance and power equipment, so having access to high-end machinery and resources ensures Welford Road and the training grounds at Oval Park continue to be some of the best facilities in the country.  

“Responsible for looking after the stadium and the club’s three training pitches at Oval Park, our pitches take their fair share of damage from both rugby and the weather. In any one season, we can accommodate over 200 matches and daily training sessions, so having kit that is reliable, ergonomic and delivers a superb finish makes the job easier. We use STIHL grass trimmers, blowers and small pedestrian rotary mowers, as well as hard-wearing outdoor clothing like boots, jackets and gloves so we can get the job done, no matter the weather.

“The stadium’s pitch was newly laid last year, with the club trialling out a new Eclipse Hybrid turf pitch exclusively grown by County Turf in the UK, which has impressed us no end. 

“This hybrid turf combines natural and synthetic fibres tufted into an open-weave backing, top dressed with specified sand. The reinforcement of the artificial grass guarantees stability and an even playing surface immediately after installation.  The club also invested in a new pop up watering system that was installed prior to the new pitch being laid and we utilise SGL lighting rigs to help stimulate grass growth on specific wear and shaded areas of the pitch.

“Our team consists of three staff working across both locations and, under our new maintenance regimes, the club’s partnership with STIHL means that we have the machinery necessary to work effectively and efficiently – none so more so than throughout our off-season renovation process this summer.

“Our renovations are planned to start on June 10th commencing across all four pitches. It is simply a case of removing the surface vegetation, vertidraining, topping up surface levels and reseeding.

“STIHL’s mowers will then help us undertake a robust maintenance regime of regular cutting on a daily/every other day regime depending on growth, keeping the height of cut at around 30mm and then raising it as winter approaches.

“Coping with the reinstatement after training and matches, this will be centred on cleaning the surface with rotary mowers, divotting and brushing. We will also ensure the pitches are aerated on a regular basis and fed ready for the new season kicking.”

www.stihl.co.uk