Sarries' Plastic Is Pitch-Perfect Says Will
SARACENS flanker Will Fraser has a blunt message for the sceptics who think plastic pitches and rugby should never be mentioned in the same sentence: Don't decry it until you try it!
The England Saxons No 7 was as cautious as the next man on February 16 when Sarries tackled Exeter Chiefs in the first-ever Premiership game to be played on a totally artificial surface.
But a month into the experiment at the club's £24m state-of-the-art Allianz Park stadium Fraser is not only a convert, he reckons synthetic could be the future for professional rugby.
"No-one thought plastic and rugby would ever go together," he told Talking Rugby Union as he looked out across the immaculate ground at Barnet in North London. "But having played on this one here I've got to say it's brilliant. It's quick, so it's a bit of a shock to the system to begin with. But it just allows for such a flowing game of rugby."
The eyes of the rugby world are now focused on Saracens as they pioneer the very latest in artificial turf at their new home following a January move from Watford FC's Vicarage Road. The pitch cost more than £500,000 to lay and has a lifespan of just eight years. But it is practically maintenance-free and can be used every day of the year.
So far the surface has passed its crash test with flying colours during an LV=Cup tie with Cardiff Blues and two Aviva Premiership games against Exeter and London Welsh. The biggest examination will come this weekend when Sarries take on title rivals Harlequins in a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash.
"It's a really good surface," said Fraser. "Technology has come a very long way since the football grounds of the eighties which were eventually outlawed and earned plastic pitches a bad name. This is top-of-the-range, high-spec stuff and I love playing on it.
"The surprising thing is you don't need to change the way you play in the slightest. We keep everything exactly the same whether we are here on the artificial surface or away on grass.
"It's well-documented that we are a very structured side at Saracens. So nothing changes at all, it is exactly the same as we would do on any other pitch. The speed of the game on it just allows for a few more opportunities and it's just about whether you take them or not really.
"I think the biggest worry might have been injuries. But, touch wood, no-one seems to have had any issues with that so far."
The Allianz pitch looks, feels and plays like normal grass. But it is entirely synthetic with a rubber shock-pad to protect players in compliance with regulations on head impacts.
According to Saracens skipper Steve Borthwick, the former England captain: "It has a bit more cushioning than an ordinary pitch in, say, September, or in pre-season games in August. I think it's better than scrummaging in mud."
Club chief executive Ed Griffiths admits it is an experiment. "In two years either everyone in rugby will have moved to what we have, or we will have moved back to grass, he said. "Of course there is a risk to being the first. But the general reaction of other clubs has been: 'OK, it's interesting, but let's wait and see how it turns out."
Chairman Nigel Wray commented: "The sporting world is looking at this place." And International Rugby Board chief executive Mike Miller said: "Unfortunately in this country people have the image of Queens Park Rangers in the eighties. It is a totally different thing now."
Will Fraser, who knows how different things are, suggests critics could quickly become converts once the majority of Aviva Premiership sides have sampled Allianz Park for themselves and seen the pitch at first hand.
"We used to train on a 3G pitch at Hertfordshire University and there was no way you would be able to play a game on that. No chance, he said. "But this pitch here is one of a kind at the moment and, give it a few years, I think you'll find a few more knocking around in rugby."
