Artificial Surfaces
income, something unachievable with natural pitches. By allowing the proprietor to use the turf all year round, regardless of what the elements can throw at it, synthetic pitches play a crucial role in helping clubs achieve a stable long-term future. Further savings on water and pesticides, in addition to its enhanced durability, ensures maintenance is kept to a minimum. The Saracens pitch has given the club an
unprecedented opportunity to engage with the local community. The flexibility to divide up the playing area for greater participation numbers, without fear of damaging the pitch, has allowed them to expand links with youngsters by providing a quality facility for them year round. On non-match weeks, the pitch will see twenty-five to forty hours of use and cater for 650 to 1,000 individuals, figures unattainable with natural grass. Questions over the pitch’s safety have
also proved foundless as the feared burns and injuries have, up until now, not materialised. As resistant to sun as much as rain, a synthetic pitch also provides greater protection on impact than a hard, natural equivalent during periods of intense heat. A consistent surface and incorporated shock absorption pads provide added protection. Effective pitch care, as implemented at Allianz Park by Maintenance Manager,
“
minimise the threat of joint injuries.” “Whilst we don’t use pesticides, the pitch
Whilst we don’t use pesticides, the pitch does need to be treated and we are due for our first one soon. It’s very simple and just protects against any bacteria getting caught within the fibres
Danny Holding, is also behind the pitch’s safety record. “Every week, the pitch gets a rake and a
sweep,” explains Danny, “and we also make sure that there are sufficient levels of rubber crumb below the level of the grass. The raking is important to ensure that all the fibres are standing upright and not lying flat, so that there’s no risk of burns to the players. The rubber crumb provides that ‘natural’ give in the pitch when players plant their feet, so that we
does need to be treated and we are due for our first one soon. It’s very simple and just protects against any bacteria getting caught within the fibres.” It’s a new experience for Danny having come from a football background, but the results are being seen on the treatment table. “There was always a concern around the
3G pitch and there were some reports of studies saying that it was slightly more prone to causing injury,” says Senior Physiotherapist, Laura Tulloch. “We haven’t found that, particularly with grass soft tissue injuries. There’s obviously a faster game played on this pitch, and you see that in the games that we play and the tries that we are scoring, but we haven’t found a particular correlation between the change in our injury history and the pitch coming in.”
The cost to maintain a synthetic pitch
ranges from between £15,000 to £20,000 a year and, whilst groundstaff are still required, it’s the return on the investment that makes the turf stand out. Saracens new found ability to assist the community is testament to that. How synthetic would affect
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