HUNDREDS of youngsters will be able to play rugby throughout the autumn and winter, thanks to a £50,000 cash injection.

Bolton Rugby Union FC has been given the money from the latest round of Sport England’s Protecting Playing Fields Olympic legacy fund.

The project will overhaul three rugby pitches for matches, as well as a training pitch, by improving drainage, which will reduce the number of games cancelled.

Vandals have been tearing up the pitches at the Avenue Street club on moto-cross bikes so the money will also be used to build a boundary fence.

Jon-Paul Hardman, senior section chairman of Bolton Rugby Union FC, said: “With the Olympics at the forefront of everyone’s minds, it is fantastic Sport England has been able to harness the enthusiasm and create a lasting legacy with Bolton RUFC.

“The money will be used to fund our pitch improvement programme for more than 250 youngsters to continue to enjoy rugby within the town.

“With more than a dozen local schools providing rugby at some level now, the sport is proving beneficial to the town in not only providing physical activity, but by also teaching discipline, respect and team skills to the young people of the town.”

He added: “This vital funding will allow a pitch project to be undertaken on a far larger scale and provide a better-quality surface to allow rugby to progress in the town, while also maintaining a green space at the very centre of the local community.”

Bolton Rugby Union FC is among 61 sports clubs and community groups across England to benefit from more than £2 million worth of funding in the second round of Protecting Playing Fields.

Sport England’s chairman, Richard Lewis, said: “This playing field will be a lasting sporting legacy beyond the 2012 Games for Bolton, where generations will enjoy their first experience of sport.”

Hundreds more playing fields are set to benefit from a further £6 million over the three remaining rounds of Protecting Playing Fields. The third round will open for bids in early summer.