Artificial Surfaces
Saracens play style was one of the more intriguing questions upon its installation. Fans, who had always enjoyed high quality rugby at Vicarage Road, waited with bated breath to see if theories of a faster game would come true. They did, and with devastating effects. Prior to Saracens defeat to London Irish, the team had racked up 622 points, scoring seventy-four tries and winning sixteen of their seventeen games at home. “The great thing about it is that you get a consistent surface throughout the year,” expands Gordon Banks. “The ball is much easier to handle as you have not got that mud and residue, even in wet conditions. In terms of skill development, it’s a fantastic surface to use.”
Fewer collapsed scrums
Key to that development is Joe Shaw, Saracens Skill Coach. The club currently utilises two bases for training, one is their synthetic pitch and the other is the grass pitches at St. Albans in preparation for clashes on natural turf. With experience on both, it’s clear which one he prefers. “The pitch has changed the game for us really in terms of how we have managed to evolve our attack and our general game. The boys enjoy playing down here, they know what they are going to get week in week out, and it has allowed us to execute things at a pace that not a lot of teams have experienced before. I think it is the future for a lot of people.”
Saracens have made 3G synthetic surfaces mainstream
“ 76 I PC APRIL/MAY 2014
It has been working really well for us in that respect and there have been a lot less collapses, which is good. Up until now, it has been very positive
The main question surrounding the new turf was what it would do for the scrum, a facet of rugby which has seen a rapid and disappointing decline over recent years. Often collapsing and targeted by cheats looking to disrupt the game, scrums take up one-sixth of matches in the top leagues. Natural pitches, struggling to cope under heavy rainfall, do little to help, as the ground gives way under 800kg of pack power. Yet, the pitch at Allianz Park has had little issue, having successfully seen fewer collapsed scrums on its surface. It seems, with all the ineffective rule changes surrounding scrummaging, the answer to the problem may be found underfoot. “From a technical point of view, I think the more grip you have the better,” says Saracens South African tighthead prop, Petrus Du Plessis. “So, therefore, the scrum is going to stay up a lot more. For us, we work together, there are eight in the scrum and we need to be a strong unit. It has been working really well for us in that respect and there have been a lot less collapses, which is good. Up until now, it has been very positive.” The expertise in the installation and maintenance of synthetic turf has been partnered with Bonar Yarns, the company whose product is used on the surface. Each operation brings its own benefit to the table, incorporating shock pads - which maximise player performance - whilst Bonar’s specially formulated polymer facilitates the resistance and durability that has seen Allianz Park celebrated to this day. Bonar also employ CoolGrass technology which reflects the sun and keeps the surface cool and players comfortable.
Bryn Lee is Commercial Director at Bonar
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