Mathers' knees and elbows might be a bit sore today..... www.wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/news ... /mathers2/

Mathers' knees and elbows might be a bit sore today..... www.wakefieldwildcats.co.uk/news ... /mathers2/

Maybe we haven't gone far enough down the artificial pitch route. The game should go one further and introduce i-concrete pitches. This way, the clubs can use their pitches as public car parks during the week. Better still, why not consider the i-supermarket pitch. Build a supermarket on each ground, then on Sunday afternoon, move all the shelves to the side & play on the tiles.
Surely the opinion of, and welfare of, the players regarding the pitch should take precedent with this.
If it's almost inevitable that the players is going to come off the pitch at the end of the game with, what would be on a normal pitch, unnecessary and avoidable carpet burns, how is that going to attract people to want to play the game? Grass has served RL well for over 100 years and, from what I can see, to date no one has come up with a better surface. Cuts and grazes are part and parcel of the game, but at least on a grass surface, a player has at least a chance of coming off the pitch without them.

Scott Moore on twitter this morning:



The iPitch is fine, chill out.

Does that mean someone at widnes has had a word with him

Slapped wrist as well as carpet burns,poor lad.

That's exactly what will have happened

.

My take is, it looked good, played on well. BUT, if players are getting burns and grazes that are bleeding bad then this isn't acceptable.

It's a tough game for sure but but players shouldn't have to go in there and come out with cuts/grazes that will sting all week and potentially weep more than grass grazes.

I like the idea and look but is it really fit for purpose??

So is it going to get ripped up at some point or are we going to go down the gridiron route

It also raises the question of whether players with bleeding elbows and knees should be sent to the blood-bin, it was obvious that blood was transferring much more from elbow and knees onto other players' elbows and knees (which were also bleeding) than is the case than when a head/facial injury bleeds.

Here,here

Don't players get cuts and grazes on grass? It always looks like they do. Maybe not on very muddy grass but during the summer when the pitches harden (assuming a half decent summer anyway) and during the winter when pitches are not mudbaths, I seem to remember seeing players interviewed with grazes and cuts on them.

I think Widnes should be forced into installing an old-school team bath in each changing room. And along with a very hot tap, rather than a cold, there is a tap which releases witch hazel.

Ben Harrison: Hey Richie how did you get those burns on your knees

Richie Myler: errrrrrrr......... ipitch mate, yes........ trained on it last night.

Just wait until Jon Wilkins had a chance to play on it! can see a few official complaints being put in then

Richie Mathers has posted a picture of his knees on Twitter. Looks nasty; lockerz.com/s/180627472

Richie Mathers has posted a picture of his knees on Twitter. Looks nasty; lockerz.com/s/180627472

Wouldn't fancy playing on that! Looks nasty from Mathers pictures.

Don't fear, Apple have promised that the I-Pitch 2 will not cause any scratches or grazes.

Yes they do but grass will break up on contact, this stuff by it's nature won't. There is no give and thus you get maximum resistance.

I'm sure there is a way around it, protective bandage, plastic spray on skin, vasoline. I certainly wouldn't bin it without making some effort to counter it's weak points - nothing is perfect to start with.

Aprt from one error Mathers played very well and I'm not a fan - get a grip it's a debate about a pitch.

Shocking. Said when it got announced it was an awful idea.

Tenner says that players will get more impact injuries throughout the season at Widnes than anywhere else.

Radio saying Widnes U20 game abandoned due to serious injury

Tom Coyle compound fracture of his leg apparantly.

Looks like this pitch may be a very costly mistake, how long to lay a new grass pitch? home games at Wire for a couple of weeks?

The injury was caused by a tackle not the pitch.

It wouldn't have helped mathers when he skid onto the concrete/gravel when craven scored his try. If players want to wear under armour to prevent them getting burns then go for it, you only have to play at widnes once a year. I saw peacock having a little say last night as well. It had been approved by the RFL! If it hadn't of been, we wouldn't of spent half a million installing it.

As for the broken leg incident, it had nothing to do with the pitch. It was an injury which sadly can happen in rugby, it's happened in the past and it will happen again.