Bristol's Louis Rees-Zammit shared a graphic photo of his torn-up leg and wants artificial pitches gone from the Premiership.
Louis Rees-Zammit has had enough of artificial surfaces in English rugby. After Bristol's defeat at Saracens, the Wales wing posted a raw image of the friction burns down his right leg and asked the game's decision-makers to act.
The damage came on Saracens' synthetic pitch at StoneX Stadium on Saturday. Rees-Zammit's caption was blunt. He pleaded for the league to stop playing on AstroTurf and urged someone in authority to step in.
His complaint carries extra weight because it follows a selection call by Bristol boss Pat Lam. The Bears director of rugby left three players out of the matchday squad because of the surface, a sign that concern about the pitch goes beyond one winger's sore leg.
The debate over artificial pitches in the Premiership keeps returning, with player welfare at the center of it. A high-profile name posting such a stark image will add pressure on the league and clubs to look again at the surfaces players are asked to sprint, slide and tackle on every week.
