So, you have a kikuyu lawn in England, then, Darren? If so, then what part? A kikuyu lawn might survive in the southwest, but in most other parts of the country it would be really difficult to keep it alive. Covering doesn't usually work well for lawns, unless you can keep a foot tall air space above the turf.

I would have thought that a cover kept on any grass for a long period of time would kill the grass. Is Kikuyu grass frost tender, if not why do you want to cover it?

Kikuyu is a subtropical grass that is hardy down to about -5º C. I made a mistake in assuming that he wanted to cover it with garden fleece. but of course, any sort of solid cover would kill the grass, or at least damage it severely. Even fleece, without that air space, might do more damage than the frost would.

thankyou for all of your comments, i live in the north of england and i havent layed a lawn as yet i am searching for a type of grass / turf that is confortable to bare feet and hardwaring enough for my son and his friends to play football on as well pleasing to the eye, i know i am asking for a lot, but it is a big garden idealy i only want to spend this amount of money once. it seems the information you have all provided me with knocks Kikuyu Grass off my list. if any one as any ideas

I would look for spreading grass varieties, such as bluegrass (Poa pratensis), or creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra). In the north of England, creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) is also a possibility, but it is subject to disease where summers are too warm. Tuft forming grasses, such as turf type tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), or perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), may be tough and hard wearing in the individual clump, but once the clump is gone, it cannot grow back from surrounding plants. Regular feeding and frequent mowing also will improve the wear resistance of lawn grasses.