Hey SARS, good post as ever.

I've actually played a little rugby on modern artificial pitches and it's great. The ball bounces true, the backs can play properly all year round and the forwards can still get enough grip to scrummage. I imagine what Sarries are building will be even better than what I've tried so it should be amazing.

Teams in the middle of winter that are playing on mud baths week in week out had better prepare for when they go to Sarries as the pitch should be much more running rugby friendly and like you say this may catch them out.

It's great that a new top class rugby stadium is about to be added to our existing ones and I'm all for the artificial pitches, isn't the Millenium stadium pitch going down that route too after all the problems they've had with their turf?

SARS

I think artificial turf has moved on since the 80s. I think a lot of soccer pitches have an artificial element to them to improve the playing surface - but it's only usually about 3%.

I'm sure all the pro and cons have been sorted, but like you, I think it will be an interesting experiment to watch.

My own experience of playing soccer on atrificial turf was wanting to wear a full tracksuit to prevent your skin being ripped off (I was a full back who thought sliding tackles were a good thing ). Jeez, I went through some number of tracksuits. These pitches were no better than playing on those red ash pitches.

yeah, unfortunately I know the feeling all too well!

Thats good to hear from both of you, I guess my concern would be the inevitable incident of someone taken in the air either under a high ball or the line out and the impact on them falling, or that of a scrum collapse on a hooker. (Though as a left wing I oftened wonder whether it was possible to hurt front row forwards at all and if they didn't actually rather enjoy that!)

Sporty - aren't you a scrum man? If so how did you find it? Also, how did the knees and ankles feel the following day - I remember them aching after playing football on astroturf and did wonder what the long term impact would be if you did it day in day out. Also, which club side do you follow?

Show - a good day for the Saints yesterday, for me it was typical Gloucester, after having caned Irish 47-3 at Kingsholm a few weeks ago I don't know how they managed to lose - thats the way it goes I guess! What are your thoughts on Lamb and Myler, halfback seems to be Saints achilles heel and I can't help but feel that if they sorted that out the power of the scrum would feed much more efficiently to the backs

Agree SARS good to hear from people who have played on it. Still got the be worries about it tho. Reminds me of the Millenium stadium roof for rugger games. was not so popular with visiting teams in the beginning and indeed to this day, depending on the conditions of the day there is always a bit of debate about it. Never had a problem myself tho many of my fellow irish men would have preferred a water logged, muddy battle because of the perception that wales are a running rugby team.

Anyway, went off on a tangent there, i dont have a problem with the surface other than I do agree its an advantage to the home side given the subtleties like drop goals and so on could be a very different challenge and so the home team being accustomed would be better prepared. But like the Millenium stadium the other sides are just going to have to get used to it.

I'm all for progress if I'm honest so fair enough. Lets see what happens.

Hi there DBM

I noticed Munster getting beaten, apparently quite easily, at Thomond Park by Cardiff - who'd lost to Sale earlier in the season! What's going on there, that used to be an absolute graveyard for opposing sides, was it a one off are are Munster in genuine trouble? I've heard a few people say that a switch to a running game from a pack orientated one has been a bit of a flop, but is that it, or is there something else?

Hi first time post on the rugby board (regular reader)!

Widnes launched an artificle pitch last year in League - it didnt go down well at the start of the season with opposition player complaining of skin burns etc, the proplems were put down to the pitch being frozen underneath (i will try and find a link somewhere) but as the season moved into the summer months less was heard about it.

the problem for me is that the RL season is from March through to October so is largely played in the summer (not a lot of frozen pitches) but the premiership runs September to May and is largely played in the winter where the new pitch could be frozen and therefore lots of complaints.

Link as mentioned

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/widnes-vikings-defend-their-new-artificial-675884

Hi there

Thanks for that

Do you reckon the pitch being frozen was the problem or was it just a case of getting used to it - it seems unusual for a pitch to be frozen in March?

Also, given that there's no water in the "grass" presumably you could displace any ice the might have frozen on to it from the air by just rolling something heavy across the pitch?

I have to admit I'm not tech-savvy to the finer points of plastic pitches but its generally encouraging to hear that it has been done in league and seems to have worked - though would there be less of an issue wit high balls and scrums in league?

yeah, I must admit i dont know that much about it myself

I assume water can get into the areas between the synthetic fibres and freeze, i guessit was a particularly cold weekend!?!

I imagine all players will wear full body skin suits, just incase there is an issue, that makes sense to me.

Cheers for the Info Tony

But hey, "full body skin suits" not likely. To be honest i'm on the opposite end from SARS i see your info as highly discouraging regarding frozen surfaces causing injury. My brother plays a lot of football and i remember he got a bloody nasty burn injury from an artificial surface a few years ago. not such a big deal in foot ball, but in rugby, if you have a nasty burn all scabbed over its not going to be all healed up by the next weekend when you have to play again.

SARS on Munster. Hell man, they have really fallen from a mountain top, but they will get back up there again. I think their major problem has been the lack of youth development. It led them into the current rebuilding/transition era but they are 10 years behind Leinster in terms of a fully operational youth structure.

But this is Munster, and you can't keep them down for long. But make no mistake. This is a full on restructuring and well as mental reprogramming that's going on there. And right now and for a couple of years more they are going to struggle. Changing their style is great, but if you want to go from the territorial ground hogs style of their past glory days to a running, off loading full tilt style the absolutely fundamental change is a running Fly-Half.

I think O'Gara is still a world class FH but not a running teams standoff. And we all know that a rugby team plays to what ever style the FH dictates and unfortunately ROG is not built for a running rugby team.

Hey SARS get the Heineken cup thread up and running. This is going to be a cracking weekend! Let's get the debate going! I plan on being more bias than ever before! Than EVR I TELL YOU! <- all caps rage there.

Hey SARS,

Sorry for the slow reply. Yes I've propped on artificial turf it wasn't too bad, like theresgonnabeashow mentioned its not like the astro turf of old, it's either a real pitch wovern with artificial turf like Irish play on at the Majesky or its the super new artificial stuff.

Tony raises an interesting point about frozen pitches, you'd hope they'd be heated these days surely?

SARS

My view on the Saints 10 dilemma.

As you will have seen for yourself, Lamb is - shall we say- an enigma. Certainly more inventive on his day than Myler, but equally unreliable. I hoped he'd be a shade more reliable than Geraghty, but sadly no.

So, for me it's the safety of Myler every time. I know it doesn't turn the forward power into fluid back play, but it's a bit like the old Andrew or Barnes type argument.

I'd have loved to have seen us take the punt on Cipriani that Sale did. Other than that, it's a pity George Ford is on his way to Bath. I was hoping he might have wanted the chance to shine just a few miles down the road. . I think it would have been a great fit on all sides.

Tom Leech

Who he?

Unless you mean Tom Leach, a kid in the Worcester Warriors academy.