A NEW era is set to kick off at Yarnbury Rugby Club as work gets under way on a new artificial grass pitch fit for a Premiership team.

Players at a local rugby club can look forward to a whole new playing experience next season as plans for the installation of a state-of-the-art 4G pitch have overcome all of the planning hurdles.

Work started at the Brownberrie Lane, Horsforth ground on Monday and will be completed in September.

The pitch will be constructed by the same contractor and to the same standard as those already in use at Premiership rugby clubs Saracens and Newcastle, giving players the opportunity to train and play on the best surface available in this part of the county.

Use of the facility will not be limited to Yarnbury members, however, with plans in place to open it up to the local community.

Yarnbury finished last season third in Yorkshire Division Two.

Simon Moglia, who chaired the project committee, hailed the club's pitch perfect work.

He said: “The new pitch will herald a new era in the long history of Yarnbury Rugby Club.

"No longer will our fixtures and training sessions be threatened by the weather and we can guarantee playing time for our senior and junior members alike.

"We will also strengthen our community links by opening the facility to our neighbouring rugby and football clubs, as well as colleges and schools.”

Yarnbury is well known as an inclusive, sociable rugby club, regularly fielding four senior sides on a Saturday.

It also has a vibrant junior section with teams at every age group.

The Yarnbury Academy provides particular focus on the transition from junior to senior rugby and benefits from some of the best qualified coaches in Yorkshire amateur rugby.

The project is part of the England Rugby Football Union’s plans to invest in 100 Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) across England over a four-year period as a part of their Rugby World Cup legacy. Its ambition is to maximise playing opportunities across the country by offering high quality all-weather playing surfaces to clubs and local communities experiencing growing demand on their natural turf pitches through overuse and where there is high growth potential.

For more information, or to join.yarnbury.co.uk