New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Revoultion (MLS) both play on an artificial pitch at the Gillette Stadium with the markings being changed in the same week some times, they also host some Lacrosse on it too so it's easy enough to change the markings.



From what I've seen with the American sports on them, they play just like natural grass just without the mud.

Another Lancashire innovation. Yorkshire are just introducing floodlights.

The thing that annoyed me about Hemmings' questions was that they were very leading. He had an opinion, and so led with that in the question, e.g. "Surely this kind of pitch can't be right, can it?" etc. It's weak journalism. He's not supposed to express an opinion, he's supposed to ask a question in a neutral and non-leading manner. That's why he winds people up.

I thought that at the time. Then he starts banging on about unfair advantages and whether we should be forced to allow teams to train on it before playing on it. There are many ways teams give themselves an advantage, whether its the sloped pitch, the small in goal area, the width. To me, this will be a good thing especially in bad weather.

for more info go here,also questions and answers download from the vikings official site cheers. www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article.php?id=5601

for more info go here,also questions and answers download from the vikings official site cheers. www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article.php?id=5601

Don't think it was at Leigh East.



Leigh Centurions use that pitch for training sometimes and it didn't look like Leigh East from the shots I saw

Think it may have been at Edge Hill University Ormskirk

Sounds like the 2012 team is gonna be awesome . Can you tell us who will be in this fearsome squad ?

One will be the terrifying Thomas Coyle.

I just think he played Devil's advocate, and did it well. Let's face it, there's plenty of flatcappers who'll be shocked by this innovation and will have thought all the things Hemmings asked out loud. This way their questions are answered.



Its just another way in which RL pushes the boundaries of british sport.

Should go well with the atrificial promotion

JMO sports park in Skelmersdale according to the Liverpool Echo last night.

It sounds like the surface South London Storm play on, that's a very fine, very soft surface that is much superior to grass.

Avignon used an artificial pitch in the French Elite this season, not sure if it's the same type that Widnes will be getting, but doesn't seem to have been an issue. Saracens RU will have one when they move to Barnet Copthall next year.

so, you think the squad is going to be awesome, but apparently dont know its makeup? hmmmmm.

there are myriad threads covering the ongoing squad building.

But it only gives one side of a story, and makes people think of it as negative first. I'd be equally annoyed if he'd been leading questions from the opposing view. It's just poor journalism. Questions could have been answered just as easily from a neutral point of view.



All it does is make the person asking the questions seem stupid (as his opinion-led question is ultimately always wrong). Or it just gives the impression that the majority of the audience are negative cynicals.

.

Don't get me started on SKY questions. It drives me nuts after the game when they "interview" a player or two. Bill Arthur doesn't ask questions, he just makes statements which leave the players with nowhere to go.



Eg :



"They really made you work hard out there."

"You must be pleased with that performance."

"Your forward pack really laid the platform there."

"That was a tough local derby"

"You had to really dig deep in the second half."



I'd love it if Bill would just once ask open-ended questions :



"Who do you think was your best player today ?"

"What was the turning point of the game ?"

"Did the opposition do anything which surprised you ?"



That sort of thing. I'd like genuine player views, not just repeated cliches following a Bill statement. You may as well just put Bill in front of the camera and have him read his crib sheet of 15 meaningless statements.



Grrr.

"Who

Ooooooh, you bitch

Hmm, not sure I agree with this to be honest. He's sort of stating a theme for the player to expound upon as the player sees fit - e.g



"That was a tough local Derby"

" Yeah it was these occasions are always blah blah blah"



etc.

I've played American Football on 3G Pitches twice in the last year, the biggest difference between them and grass wasn't when you hit the ground but how your knees felt afterwards. There's a lot less spring in the pitch, so it shakes them up quite badly. One lad on the team can't play on any artificial pitches now, cause of a knee reconstruction he had 3 years ago, it's too painful.

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I heard that an i-pitch was being laid at Saints' new ground too.

Yet again another daft idea for the world of super league



I fear for the players safety on these pitches,pity is it will take 3 players getting there careers ruined before it gets ripped up



Reffed on these pitches I was like bambi on ice on it,at halftime half the players were complaing of the lovely black bits in there eyes and ears



Think the only reason the o connor bloke wants it is so he can park his lorries on it during the week

What a terrible, unthoughtout, unfactual, unfunny reply.



The only difference I noticed playing on the Leigh East version was the bounce of the ball and the first few minutes of apprehension.



Otherwise its fine!

I'm pretty sure the 3g / 5g stuff people have experience of playing on is different to what is being installed at Widnes.

The 3G is very hard on the joints, seen loads of injuries when people have been playing on them. I hope this pitch is rather more advanced.