Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial pitches in the Prem after posting a graphic image of the wounds he sustained during Bristol’s defeat at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium on Saturday. The Wales wing revealed the extent of the friction burns caused to his right leg after running out for the Bears on Saracens’ artificial pitch with the caption: “Can we please stop playing on these AstroTurf pitches!! Someone do something about it!!” Saracens were the first Prem club to install an artificial pitch, in 2013, before Newcastle and Gloucester followed in 2014 and 2021.
Worcester also used one before going into liquidation. After Saturday’s defeat, the Bristol director of rugby, Pat Lam, took aim at the surface and revealed he had omitted Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua from his side for fear of injury. In 2021, World Rugby allowed players to wear leggings and base layers to reduce the risk of burns.
The argument for artificial pitches is that they allow greater use even in extreme weather conditions. The Saracens and England hooker Jamie George, who is preparing for his side’s Champions Cup fixture at Connacht on Saturday, which will be played on an artificial pitch, said: “I think everyone reacts differently to these kinds of pitches. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion in terms of what they think about the pitches.
I know the StoneX pitch meets all the rules and regulations. Whether there is an advantage in that, whether that means our bodies get more used to it, you’d have to speak to a sports scientist, but I know that is an area of focus for us.”
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