MM Tetrasport proves its strength at Towcestrians Sports Club
When the Women’s Rugby World Cup came to town, the pitches at Towcestrians Sports Club needed to perform at the highest level. Head Groundsman Tommy Waldock turned to a product he knew he could trust - MM Tetrasport - and the results spoke for themselves.
Based in Towcester, Northamptonshire, Towcestrians Sports Club is an open, non-profit, multi-sports venue offering rugby, cricket, hockey, netball, tennis, and archery. Its facilities have grown rapidly in recent years, and today the site boasts four full-size rugby pitches, a cricket square, and an artificial surface for hockey.
For Tommy, who has spent his entire career in sports turf, managing a site of this scale is no small task.
“I started back in 2011 at Peterborough United FC,” he explains. “A friend of mine worked there and asked if I could help with some strimming. One thing led to another, and they offered me a full-time job. That’s how I got into groundsmanship. From there, I moved to MK Dons, then spent five years at the Ricoh Arena before joining Towcestrians about six years ago.”
The club’s growing reputation was further boosted when it was chosen as an official training centre for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, hosting both Ireland and France for pre-tournament preparations.
“It was a brilliant experience,” says Tommy. “But it came with its challenges - especially during the drought. The pitch passed all the ProPitch tests with flying colours and MM Tetrasport really showed what it could do.”
Having first used MM Tetrasport during his time at the Ricoh Arena, Tommy knew it was the right choice for Towcestrians’ demanding rugby surfaces.
“I was always going to use Tetrasport for the Rugby World Cup prep because I knew how it reacts, and I knew how good it is,” he says. “It’s been absolutely brilliant. I’ve used it across all four pitches, and if you were to stand here now, you wouldn’t know we’d had a drought. The pitches are stunningly green.”
MM Tetrasport is designed for fast germination, rapid establishment, and outstanding wear tolerance - qualities that have proved vital under the heavy demands of rugby training and matches. Treated with Headstart® GOLD, it delivers strong performance from the off, while the tetraploid ryegrasses provide resilience and excellent colour all year round.
“The recovery is unbelievable,” says Tommy. “You can have 40-odd players out there, and by the time you give the pitch a brush and a cut after training, you wouldn’t even know they’d been on it. I’ve never known a seed regenerate like it - it just keeps coming.”
For the Rugby World Cup preparation, Tommy followed a ProPitch specification involving deep scarification and reseeding with MM Tetrasport at 45g/m².
“We pulled out a lot of old bent grass, did a four-way scarification, and used nine bags of Tetrasport per pitch. The seed was up in six days - we saw the first signs of growth that quickly. We also applied a pre-seed feed after five days to help it along. It was flat-out from there - it just didn’t stop growing.”
The same mixture was used across the other pitches without scarification, and despite the heavy usage, the results have been equally impressive. “It’s superb,” Tommy adds. “It got through the tournament without even a scar and was recovering within a week once conditions improved.”
Tommy also credits the service and advice he receives from Matt Gresty from MM Seed and Charlie Seager from Agrovista Amenity for helping him achieve such strong results.
“Matt Gresty has been brilliant - really knowledgeable and always gives you options,” says Tommy. “I buy through Charlie at Agrovista Amenity, and he’s fantastic too. You ask a question, and he’s got the answer straight away. Between them both, they really look after you.”
With professional-standard surfaces now maintained across all four rugby pitches, Towcestrians Sports Club continues to thrive. For Tommy, MM Tetrasport has become an essential part of that success.
“It’s a superb seed,” he concludes. “It got us through the Rugby World Cup, through drought, and everything else which has been thrown at it. You just can’t ask for more than that.”