Louis Rees-Zammit has called for artificial rugby pitches to be scrapped after showing the skin burns he suffered while playing on Saracens' surface at the weekend.
The Wales international took to Instagram to share an image of the damage to his leg, accompanying it with a blunt message calling for action over the use of synthetic turf in professional rugby.
"Can we please stop playing on these AstroTurf pitches! Someone do something about it!," he said.
Renewed scrutiny of synthetic surfaces
Rees-Zammit's intervention comes amid renewed scrutiny of artificial surfaces, with Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam revealing he left three players out of his squad for their trip to north London on the weekend because of concerns over the pitch.
Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua were all rested after suffering significant injuries last season.
Lam said: "They came off big injuries last year and so it wasn't worth putting them on that pitch.
"If we were playing the game at home or if it was a semi-final, they would have played."
Longstanding concerns
The concerns are longstanding, with England prop Joe Marler calling for 4G pitches to be banned in 2021. Exeter Chiefs and England team-mates Henry Slade and Jack Nowell backed his criticism.
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in December 2024 analysed 20 seasons of injury data from the English Premiership. It found that the incidence of knee injuries during matches was 44 per cent higher on artificial pitches than on natural grass.
The researchers recorded an incidence rate ratio of 1.44, although they found no significant difference in injury severity between the two surfaces.
More recently, Saracens' artificial pitch was reported to have been one factor in England international Tom Willis' decision to leave the club for French side Bordeaux-Bègles, alongside the financial and sporting attractions of the move.
Rees-Zammit's post adds to the debate over whether artificial pitches have a place in the professional game, with players and coaches continuing to raise concerns about their potential impact on welfare.
