Ed Slater: We need proof plastic pitches are safe

Leicester lock Ed Slater believes more research into artificial grass pitches is needed in order to convince players the controversial surfaces are safe.
Slater, who recently recovered from a serious knee injury, missed last week’s trip to Newcastle because of fears over playing on the Kingston Park plastic.
He is not alone in exercising caution, with Exeter and England wing Jack Nowell, below, also unable to take to artificial grass because of long-standing knee issues.
“Newcastle was a 50-50 for me because of the plastic pitch. With my knee history it was whether it was worth the gamble or not.” Slater told The Rugby Paper.
“Jack Nowell can’t go on them because of his tendon stuff and there are quite a few other boys who aren’t keen on it either. It’s becoming a bit of an issue.
“I don’t like the pitches, they’re not good for my knee and I know a lot of others feel the same way after games on them. I don’t know many people who like them.
“I had my knee injury at Saracens and Owen Williams did his ACL on the one at Cardiff. Schalk Brits did his at Saracens and there’ve been a few cases now. It would be interesting to see if any proper studies have been done on injuries on these pitches.”
Slater reckons the inability of teams to pick top players for matches on artificial surfaces could also affect the integrity of the Premiership competition.
He added: “Does it disadvantage certain teams? It depends how much you read into it, but coaches aren’t happy when a player has to pull out because of a plastic pitch.
“All I know is they’re not good for my body. It’s not good for the joints and if there’s a high risk, you can’t play and it’s just incredibly frustrating really.”
Slater, 28, needs as much game time as possible before the end of the season if he is to restate his England claims for this summer’s tour to Australia.
“How many comebacks have I had?” he mused. “I got a good run of games between October and January and was finding form, but then I damaged my medial ligaments.
“Now I’ve got to build that form back up again and there’s no time to hang about or feel my way in, I’ve got to really come in and make an impact.
“Playing for England is the ultimate ambition but that’s at the back of my mind right now. I’ve got to get match-fit and, hopefully, if I’m playing as well as I can, throw my name in the hat for that England tour at the end of the season.”
Despite their recent blip, Slater insists Leicester remain firm title contenders.
“Always!” he says bullishly. “Our ambition is to win the Premiership; that’s the standard we set and we haven’t become a bad team overnight.
“We put ourselves in a bit of a mess after losing to Sale and Newcastle, but we’ve got a job to do and a lot is expected of us.”
JON NEWCOMBE