Scotland say pitch battle being won

A parasite attack on Edinburgh's Murrayfield shouldn't threaten its staging of Scotland's two home matches in the Six Nations, rugby bosses say.

Scottish Rugby Union chiefs are optimistic they are getting the better of parasites that have spoilt the once pristine Murrayfield pitch in time for the Six Nations Championship.

However, Edinburgh said on Monday that their Celtic League match against the Ospreys on February 28 may have to be moved elsewhere in order to spare the turf punishment.

Long renowned for the quality of its playing surface, Murrayfield came under attack from nematodes in the build-up to the 2013 end-of-year Tests.

Front-row forwards at scrums found life even more difficult than normal when the pitch churned up badly during Scotland's November internationals against Japan, South Africa and Australia.

However, the SRU say that the "manageable" problem will not pose a threat to the staging of Scotland's two home matches in the 2014 Six Nations at Murrayfield, against England and France on February 8 and March 8 respectively.

"Scottish Rugby continues to monitor carefully the international pitch at Murrayfield Stadium," an SRU spokesman said on Monday.

"The playing surface at the home of Scottish rugby has been regarded with justifiable pride for many years; therefore its current condition is a matter of understandable concern.

"This season, however, a parasitic infection, which affected the roots of the reseeded grass pitch, coupled with the wintry weather, has placed considerable stress on the playing surface, in spite of the tireless work of the Murrayfield groundstaff.

"The latest testing of the pitch shows that the problem with the nematodes is now 'manageable' and that the treatment being used to eliminate the worm - which includes spraying the pitch with garlic, then plant sugars to stimulate growth - is beginning to take effect."


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world