Exclusive: RFU to halt £50m plan for artificial grass pitches

The artificial turf at the Allianz Park, home to Saracens Rugby - RFU to halt £50m plan for artificial grass pitches
The artificial turf at the Allianz Park, home to Saracens Rugby Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA

Grass-roots rugby in England is braced for another major blow as part of the Rugby Football Union’s brutal cost-cutting with the £50 million investment in artificial grass pitches, one of the landmark legacies of hosting the 2015 World Cup, to be shelved as part of the review of its capital spending, Telegraph Sport can reveal.

The news comes as this paper revealed on Saturday that the governing body is in the process of making up to 75 employees redundant in a cost-cutting exercise with the majority of job losses – 40 – to come in the rugby department, which includes development officers and grassroots coaching staff.

It is understood there are mounting tensions at Twickenham that the grass-roots...

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