Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Louis Rees-Zammit played in Bristol's defeat at Saracens, who play on an artificial pitch
ByChris JonesRugby union correspondent- Published46 minutes ago
Wales and Bristol star Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial playing surfaces in top-flight rugby.
Rees-Zammit played in the Bears' 30-7 defeat by Saracens on Saturday, and posted a picture on social media showing a heavily scarred right leg.
Prem clubs Saracens, Gloucester and Newcastle all play on artificial pitches, with the state of the Sarries surface coming under scrutiny this season.
Rees-Zammit posted the photo with the caption: "Can we please stop playing on these Astroturf pitches!! Someone do something about it!!"
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Meanwhile, it emerged over the weekend that Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam did not select three of his key players because of the state of the StoneX Stadium pitch.
Pedro Rubiolo, AJ MacGinty and Steven Luatua were rested for the trip to north London.
"They came off big injuries last season so it wasn't worth putting them on that pitch," Lam explained.
"If we were playing the game at home or if it was a semi-final, they would have played."
Saracens have been contacted for comment.
Lam has previously voiced his opposition to artificial pitches being used in the Prem.
Following the Bears' league win at Newcastle in April, Lam blamed the pitch for causing a number of injuries to his team.
"These pitches are hard - I'm not a big fan of them," Lam said at the time.
"We always take injuries on them and we've taken a few more."
Newcastle installed a new pitch at Kingston Park this summer before the 2026-27 season and have kept it fully artificial.
