Wales and Bristol star Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial playing surfaces in top-flight rugby. His plea follows Bristol's 30-7 defeat by Saracens on Saturday, after which Rees-Zammit shared a social media photo of his heavily scarred right leg, captioned: "Can we please stop playing on these Astroturf pitches!! Someone do something about it!!"
The state of Saracens' StoneX Stadium pitch has drawn scrutiny this season. Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam opted to rest three key players – Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty, and Steven Luatua – for the trip to north London, citing their recovery from significant injuries last season. Lam stated they would have played if the game was at home or a semi-final.
Lam has previously voiced his opposition to artificial pitches, blaming them for injuries sustained by his team during a league win at Newcastle in April. Premiership clubs Saracens, Gloucester, and Newcastle all currently play on artificial surfaces, with Newcastle installing a new fully artificial pitch at Kingston Park this summer for the 2026-27 season.