3G Football and Rugby Pitches

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Doon frae Troon

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I must say that they seem to have cracked this one.
Much more enjoyable watching a mid winter game on a fair playing surface than a bumpy tattie field.
Postponed matched virtually 'no more'.
Financial benefits for the clubs are huge in areas such as shared facilities. Football/Rugby/Hockey/Pop Concerts etc.
 
Only ever seen photos of them never seen one properly. Can understand them being good for football but what are they like for rugby which will involve much more falling on them in tackles and the need to get a good grip for scrums?

I remember the old style ones which were basically thin carpet laid on concrete or that plastic grass type stuff. Never wanted to dive as a goalkeeper or commit to a sliding tackle on that stuff.
 
You can't play hockey on the same 3G pitch as football and Rugby

Good for schools for football and rugby but don't think they should be for professional sport
 
GreiginFife said:
3G surfaces are so 2008. Most professional surfaces are 4G or Fieldturf.
Even our local sports centre has entered the modern world and ditched their 3G surface for Fieldturf.

Do keep up :thup:
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:lol:
Thanks Greig I think they were the ones I meant.
I had a look at the Murryfield one and to be honest I would not fancy being tackled on that.
The Accies and Falkirk pitches seem good for football.
 
A joy to play on. The ball will actually slow down like on real grass as opposed to the old astro pitches where it just kept on running and the game was played at 100mph which doesn't suit my languid possession football. Lol
 
And yet I belive that the FA will not allow kids past the U10 age group to play on them. My boys team used a 4G pitch all last season and it was perfect. This season they've had to use grass - Numerous missed weekends due to mud etc.

edit - It might not be the FA who are solely at fault, and may be because of the intricate marking that youth football now requires.
 
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My son plays in goal and loves 4G pitches as the bounce is true and it is fine to dive on. After watching his matches on bobbly, muddy pitches for the last two weeks I would certainly say the quality of players would improve if more were able to switch to 4G rather than grass.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
My son plays in goal and loves 4G pitches as the bounce is true and it is fine to dive on. After watching his matches on bobbly, muddy pitches for the last two weeks I would certainly say the quality of players would improve if more were able to switch to 4G rather than grass.
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As a former keeper I can vouch for the damage the original artificial pitches did to knees and elbows. Played on a 4G in a works do with trepidation and it was fine. Well apart from not being able to walk properly the day after but that's more my old age, than the pitches.

If the FA are stopping it kids from U11 upwards from using 4G pitches it seems a very short sighted policy with grass roots participation falling. I can't see what logic they would have for such a decision
 
HomerJSimpson said:
If the FA are stopping it kids from U11 upwards from using 4G pitches it seems a very short sighted policy with grass roots participation falling. I can't see what logic they would have for such a decision
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I assume this is going to happen in the future as my son has played league matches at U15 level on them this year. He also played regional representative matches on them the previous year, U14. He plays Div 1, in the North East so it is a good standard. If that is correct it makes no sense. You get far better matches on them than on the usual pitches they have to play on. Technique etc is bound to improve on 4G compared to standard grass pitches which are frequently poor quality.
 
I have played a few American Football matches on 4G surfaces and they are fantastic. Much more comfortable to fall on than some of the grass pitches I had to endure.
 
Have you guys seen the Madejski? explained in this cut and paste from a news article about footy clubs ground sharing with Rugby.. Basically its real grass, but with artificial grass injected in and intertwined.. very clever stuff!



London Irish RFC and Reading FC, The Madejski Stadium
The Reading venue was built with ground-sharing in mind, with Reading FC forced to share with Richmond RFC from 1998 to 1999 before London Irish moved in. The Irish have been adopted by the town of Reading as their own rugby side now, with season tickets selling out in the stadium's South Stand every season since 2008.

Irish have a contractual agreement to play their home matches at the stadium until 2026, seeing their crowds swell to more than 11,000 and they used to hold the record for the biggest rugby union Premiership attendance in history with over 23,000.

The Madejski was one of the first in the country to employ 'Desso' technology in 2004 for a reported £750,000.

When it initially opened the pitch was fibresand but they moved to Desso after after a bad season for the pitch with the Irish getting the blame with the pitch struggling to cope with more than 50 professional fixtures in a season.

It looks like a normal pitch but it is actually constructed on a sand base compost to help with drainage while there is a normal layer of turf on top. Once the turf has established, the artificial blades of grass are injected into the field. The pitch incorporates a complicated system of synthetic fibres interwoven with the natural grass.

The system has been successful at the Madejski Stadium although the pitch still suffers from tear and wear in the goal areas and down the touchline where the assistant referees run. The surface is very consistent and durable for the two sports.

Did it work? Yes. London Irish RFC have gone from strength to strength - and the ground-share hasn't affected Reading, either, who have reached the Barclays Premier League twice in the past decade.
 
Murrayfield now also has this hybrid grass technology and the success is theri to see with the pitch being in decent nick through the season and 6 nations this year.

As for new generation turn (4G or whatever) it is night and day from the old sand covered astro carpet I played on 20 years ago, these pitches are superb.
 
I can remember the astro turf installed at Loftus Road in the early '80s... Really gave 'the hoops' a huge advantage... TV would let the opposition try pitch in the dry and then have it soaked thru' for the game as it played completely differently... You could see the 'keepers visibly wince when they had to dive to make a save...
 
MegaSteve said:
I can remember the astro turf installed at Loftus Road in the early '80s... Really gave 'the hoops' a huge advantage... TV would let the opposition try pitch in the dry and then have it soaked thru' for the game as it played completely differently... You could see the 'keepers visibly wince when they had to dive to make a save...
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I played there when GE Capital hired it out for a match. What a nightmare to play on. Nightmare to fall on but nice to play at a proper ground
 
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