Oundle kick off a new rugby union season on Saturday, but drought delays the start for other local clubs
Peterborough Rugby Union Club will not play any league games until Saturday, September 26 because of the summer drought.
It’s a two week delay for all clubs involved in National League Rugby Regional 1 divisions and below. That includes Stamford, Spalding, Bourne, Peterborough Lions, Deepings and Thorney.
I doesn’t affect Oundle who play at National League 2 East level and they host Esher in their opening match on Saturday (September 5, 2pm kick off).
The Rugby Football Union has made a postponement call because of safety concerns.
An RFU statement read: ‘Prolonged dry weather has left many grounds across the country hard and unsuitable for safe full-contact activity. With no meaningful or lengthy spells of rain currently forecast, these ground conditions are not expected to improve significantly in the short term.
‘With this in mind, we have taken the decision to delay and to give everyone certainty now. We understand a delayed start has real practical implications - travel bookings, catering and food orders, volunteer planning and more - and we know volunteers always value as much time as possible to plan around a confirmed date rather than a moving target.
‘But hard, dry pitches increase the risk of injury, particularly in the opening weeks of the season when players are returning to full contact. We recognise that many clubs have had to limit contact training in pre-season training due to the pitch conditions. We want players to return to competition safely and adequately prepared.
‘Starting the season on pitches that aren't fit for purpose risks uneven conditions and disruption across fixtures as well as offering advantages for those clubs able to prepare players during pre-season using artificial grass pitches thus undermining fair competition from the outset.’
Peterborough RUFC and Stamford will again compete at Regional Midlands East 2 level in 2026027. Borough start their season at home to Shelford with Stamford will host Kettering.
Peterborough Lions open their Counties 2 Midlands East South season at Stewart & Lloyds, while Bourne will travel to Lincoln in Counties 1 Midlands East (North). Spalding are in the same division as Bourne and will host Southwell on opening day.
Thorney will play at Eastern Counties Division One West level in the coming season and they start at Cottenham Renegades when Deepings are at home to Cambridge thirds in Division Two West.