SARACENS USED THE weekend LV Cup tie with Cardiff Blues as a ‘test event’ for their new £24 million home, Allianz Park.
The ground is the first purpose-built artificial surface for rugby union and is likely to be the venue when Ulster travel to play their Heineken Cup quarter final on April 6.
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Former Leinster youth, Robin Copeland, earned himself the honour of scoring the first competitive try on the surface, but the home side overcame a narrow 6-8 half time deficit to win out 19-11 in front of a crowd limited to 3,500.
Here’s how the surface looks – only minor visible signs of the carpet burn which usually goes hand-in-hand with playing on astro.
Image credits: Andrew Matthews/ Press Association.
Having passed the ‘test’ in the new venue, Sarries will be able to bring the capacity up to 10,000 for their next home fixture against Exeter and they could squeeze 15,000 in for Ulster’s European Cup visit.
Saracens don’t want their own supporters to be outdone by the Ulster fans. If they use Wembley or Twickers, then a higher percentage of the tickets will end up in Ulster hands. 15k is the minimum capacity for a H Cup QF
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urgh playing soccer on astro is bad but rugby just sounds painful
There is an one in UCD- it’s not too bad to play on. It’s not the same as a soccer pitch.
I have played on the ucd one and the one in clontarf they are ok, no real problems, scrummaging was ok too
the back pitch at Lansdowne (Aviva) is artificial too is it not?
Just worth mentioning that Eoin Sheriff (pictured) is a product of the Leinster Academy.
For all the chat re the surface, 15k sounds a bit small for a hc qf…
Saracens don’t want their own supporters to be outdone by the Ulster fans. If they use Wembley or Twickers, then a higher percentage of the tickets will end up in Ulster hands. 15k is the minimum capacity for a H Cup QF
Harlequins did exact the same !