true but if anyone is going to get accustomed to this it will be widnes. I can see them anticipating tjis type of ball movement as the season moves on

With regards to the bounce of the ball, it can differ from how a ball would normally bounce on grass. As the pitch is made up of little black rubber pellets if a build up occurs of these it can alter the way the ball bounces. However, the same can be said for divots in grass so I think it's all the same in the end.

Exactly , the length of the grass, dry or wet , hot or cold, sand on the pitch, there are countless differences to pitches that clubs play at, all of them affected by weather conditions and time of year, the Wides pitch will be the most consistent one in the league.

It is in fact, Widnes who will have the biggest problem, they will have the issues of burns,cuts and having to adjust to their pitch every other week, other clubs will only be affected once per year

With regard to the burns and scrapes on the arms, you get this on grass pitches in the summer if they are not watered.

For me the surface made the game fast and encouraged good football.
For the spectator and TV viewer it also kept shirts clean. The pitch markings were also very clear.
The ball does bounce slightly differently compared to grass, however with grass the bounce varies depending on the weather. Also the amount the ball slips varies greatly on grass depending on if its raining or dry. It will be interesting to see if this happens with the IPITCH
Another thing that was different was the players inability to stop quickly. This was pronounced as a negative, but in reality it means players were stopping and changing direction more naturally. Studs in grass allow you to stop and step unnaturally quickly. What this does is put unnecessary pressure on the joints. Our bodies are not designed to stop on a sixpence.
You also dont get ruts on the IPITCH, so there should be fewer instances of players turning their ankles.


Now i dont for a minute think it is better than the best grass pitches for overall quality of play, however most RL clubs dont have the money to afford such pitches. In those circumstance i think the IPITCH may make a suitable lower cost alternative.
I certainly think Headingley with its sandpit/ mudbath should look at investing in one, either that or invest money in a proper grass pitch.

Scott Moore and Richie Mathers appear to be the first players involved from tonight to be complaining on Twitter about the i-pitch.

You can bet the Widnes players will be wearing those skin tight body armour tops and leggins for future home fixtures!

Are leggings allowed in RL?

Why didn't they check this before laying a plastic pitch surely its known it gives skin bad burns! players are going to have to wear skins all year.

Just wear these, support and protection in one.

The Widnes players might need to wear protection, one match wont affect any other clubs players , during the match, adrenaline will negate any problem, it will just be afterwards the pain will kick in

You say that like it's a good thing, pitches and weather conditions add to game not detract from it. Leave plastic pitches to NFL.

I'm not suggesting anything, other than IMO it doesn't give anybody an advantage, it might not be pleasant , but these are proffessional RL players

Makes you wonder why the likes of all the top premier teams in puffball and the hallowed wembley doesnt have one of these super dooper pitches doesnt it

Because they can afford to spend half a million on fitting a grass pitch, and then all the associated maintenance costs, eg heat lamps, fertilizer, specialist mowing and spiking machinery.

Most RL clubs dont have that sort of money to splash on a pitch, hence provided a solution can be obtained to reduce the amount of scrapes and burns, then IPITCH is a lower cost alternative.

One thing i think will need looking at is if these pitches reduce or increase the incidence of joint and ligament injury. If they are reduced, then having a scraped arm or knee is far less inconvenient to a player than having medial ligament damage.

If you share your ground with a football club it isn't a problem.

It is when you have to play away from home because YOUR MASTERS require THEIR pitch to be re-laid or re-seeded

If Karen Brady has here way there wont be any premiership teams sharing there grounds anymore... Good thing Wigan Athletic look like getting relegated, For Wigan fans anyway.

It's probably because the use of an artificial pitch would have to be sanctioned by FIFA, and getting FIFA to make a modernising decision is like trying to convince Gareth Hock to not do anything stupid.

FIFA have actually been pushing the use of 3G/i-pitches for the last few years...iirc one of the recent junior world cups (under 17's i think) was played entirely 3G pitches

Widnes have got a new pitch?

Someone should have mentioned it in the coverage last night.

Unless of course there is a 'good drink in it' for Sep Blatter (without prejudice)

Bunch of pussies. i dont play anymore, but in my several years of amateur rugby league i came away from just about every game with cuts and grazes to my legs, knees, elbows and forearms regardless of weather conditions, in the summer months hard ground caused it, in the winter months frozen ground caused it - the rest of the time it was stray boots or just the simple fact of having the ground meeting me at great speed.
man up.

And all that after doing 48 hours straight down pit and sinking 20 pints of best. These modern 'athletes' don't know they're born.

It's a horrible thing, skin everywhere. I'm not suprised Scott Moore isn't happy, it looked like he played with a cherry tomato on each elbow. Dig it up, should never have been allowed.

If Scott Moore and Richie Mathers are complaining about it then it's only to distract everyone from how rubbish they played.