Rugby Players Suffer 3G Burns

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Rugby Players Suffer 3G Burns: The Scarlets have seen their training plans hindered ahead of Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 final against Leinster as a number of their players are nursing nasty burns and blisters after the semi-final victory over Glasgow on Scotstoun’s artificial surface.

Head coach Wayne Pivac has revealed he had to cancel training yesterday and a number of his players won’t be risked today because of the wounds they suffered during the 28-13 victory.

“There are a lot of bad burns,” said Pivac.

“No-one trained yesterday in terms of any rugby work on the field and there will be some who won’t train today which is unfortunate, but we will have a full training session on Thursday.

“It’s things that won’t stop them playing, but it’s not ideal.”

Pivac added: “We would always do a bit of a flush (training run) on a Monday, especially after a Friday game; but the main thing is to make the burns heals up. To run around and knock the skin off again is not the ideal situation.”

It is not the first time that artificial surfaces have come under the spotlight.

Pontypridd’s Sardis Road surface was investigated last season after Merthyr players complained of burns and cuts.

Pivac himself has also raised concerns about injuries suffered by his players at the Arms Park.

Asked to comment specifically on the Scotstoun pitch, he said: “It was very bad on the weekend. It was very dry.

“I am not sure what other teams have had, we had got a lot of burns, a lot of bad grazing and blisters. It was very firm.

“These things will heal up, but it is just frustrating at the early part of the week.

“It is what it is, you have got to play on them and you have got to accept, it but I am not a fan.”

Both Wales international Steff Evans and Kiwi full-back Johnny McNicholl spoke to the media at today’s press conference at Parc y Scarlets and both had nasty cuts and grazes to their arms and legs.

McNicholl said: “I have got a dozen of them. It has not been a couple of nice nights sticking to the sheets.

“It is not a nice pitch to play on.

“Under foot it is good when you are doing footwork. As soon as you hit the deck it affects your joints as well.

“I would prefer not to play on them. I remember going down on the deck for the ball and I got this massive grass burn on my backside.

“It was like a carpet burn. I said to the trainer straight after with a few swear words that I felt this pitch should be illegal.

“I don’t like playing on them because they are high risk for injury.

“I could not train yesterday because of the burns and my feet were numb.

“This is the only surface I have played on so I can’t judge anyone.

“I think they would be pretty similar especially on a dry day. It heats up and it is like carpet.

“You are not meant to slide and I did a few times. It was horrible.”

Evans added: “Obviously we didn’t train yesterday because a lot of players had burns and it is going to be tough one today again.

“These are going to be stuck with me for a while, it is a tough field that 4G.

“It was just really dry.

“It wasn’t soft, it was a hard ground, compared to the Arms Park and Saracens it was totally different.

“The weather didn’t help, it was like playing on carpet, it was shocking.

“It’s blisters with a bit of pus coming out. You are waking up in bed and the sheets are stuck to your leg about seven times a night. It is not great, you have just got to crack on.

“But you can’t concentrate on the burns, there is something more important to look forward to this weekend.”

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Gardener Charged For Using Mobile

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Gardener Charged For Using Mobile: A gardener is thought to have become the first person in Britain to be charged with using a mobile while operating a lawn-mower after being stopped outside a police station.

The 47-year-old council gardener faces a fine of £200 and six penalty points if he is found guilty of using his phone at the traffic lights outside of police station in Ely, Cardiff on Tuesday.

The man was followed by South Wales Police officers who spotted him allegedly using his mobile while driving along Cowbridge Road West.

Cardiff Council confirmed that he was a member of council staff and that he could face disciplinary action at a later date.

It added: “The council will be following up this matter in line with council policy and procedure.”

Accused of illegally using a phone at the wheel on a public road, the gardener is to appear at a a magistrates court later this month.

It has been illegal for a motorist to use a mobile phone while driving since 2003.

This includes handling the device, sending a text or following a map, even when the car is waiting at a set of traffic lights, as the engine is still running.

In 2017, stricter phone driving laws came into force in a bid to deter people from breaking the rules.

Motorists who are caught are liable to pay a fine of £200 or have six penalty points placed on their licence.

Around 1,200 drivers have been disqualified since the introduction of these stricter penalties.

Neil Smith, Imperial Cars’ operations director said: “Breaking the habit of touching your phone whilst in the driver’s seat can be challenging, especially with the technological advancements that come as standard on most mobile phones, but the risks you impose on both yourself and others when distracted behind the wheel are really not worth it. Unfortunately, the number of drivers still opting to ignore the law is scarily high.”

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman: Shanklin Reserves have dedicated their Combination 1 League Cup final victory to groundsman Joe Geddes who died of cancer recently.

The side beat Binstead & COB Reserves 4-1 at Brading Football Club’s Vicarage Lane ground on Saturday.

Shanklin’s goals came from Ryan Gregory and Pete Wilson headers, a superb Ji Nash dribble and shot and a tap-in from Sam Mosely, with Binstead’s consolation coming from Gavin Prescott.

Delighted Shanklin  player-manager, Frank Luter, said: “We dedicate this trophy in memory of our groundsman, Joe Geddes, who was a popular figure who served the club for many years.”

In the other match played later yesterday afternoon, the Combination 2 League Cup final, Oakfield Reserves beat Ventnor Reserves 4-2 on penalties after they finished 1-1 at full time.

Ventnor, who had two men sent off, took the lead with a brilliant 20-yard strike from Billy Creighton on 23 minutes.

They held out until the 75th minute when substitute Sam Woodmore finished well from close range.

Ventnor were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the last ten minutes for a push in the back.

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Enduring Pays Off

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Enduring Pays Off: A mostly sunny weekend at Champs Park, Kettering on the 12th/13th May saw the start of the Polaris British Enduro Championship, following delays after the bad weather. The track preparation went well and the venue did benefit from a good downpour after the completion of the Youth racing on the Saturday. Specifically aimed at those racers who are still too young to compete in the Short Circuit and Enduro Championships, SXS Racing introduced the Polaris Youth Championship Series in 2017.  And it was the youngsters who stole the show in a good turnout on day one with some new faces around the paddock. Racing Polaris ACE single seat ORVs, names to note for the future were Lewis Scotney and the unknown Rio Longdon, with Scotney throwing down an early marker in qualifying with clear intentions to dominate from the front and never look back. For many this was their first taste of competitive motorsport. In races one, two and three Lewis Scotney again showed his mettle and broke clean away. By Race 3 Rio Longdon in his ACE 570 battled to keep in touch at the front and the result for Round 1 of the British Youth Championship saw him take overall second to Lewis Scotney, who was also Clerks’ Driver of The Day.

The Polaris British Enduro Championship was established in 2016. It was created to meet the demand for a different kind of racing and is open to all manufacturers, with Expert and Rookie classes. These events are always fiercely competitive and Round 1 was no different. Driver Tom Fletcher charged to the front of the field in his Polaris RZR 1000 and once there he set the fastest lap of the day in the 1000 Expert Class. He took first place from Richard Avis whose fastest lap time was only one second apart from Fletcher’s, which shows how close the racing can be. In the Rookie Class picking a winner was never going to be easy and the race saw some near misses and retirements, but Mark Rushton in his RZR 1000 Turbo pumped in consistent lap times and experience helped him secure top spot on the podium. Another exciting weekend in the championships and Polaris and the race organisers, SXS Racing, extend their special thanks to Jamie Courtney from Champs Park. Next in the series is the Polaris British Short Circuit Championship.

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Vandals Target Sports Fields

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Vandals Target Sports Fields: Norbridge Park has been targeted once more after two of its fields in North Rockhampton were ripped up overnight.

Devoted groundsman Cec Newman said it was the seventh time in nine months the soccer fields had been damaged.

Tyre tracks were discovered this morning by Mr Newman after being notified by The Morning Bulletin.

Scenes of crime police attended the fields this morning to photograph the damage on field Eight C and field B as a result.

Mr Newman said these incidents affected the soccer players who perform on the fields every weekend.

After taking a trip around the perimeter of the lower fields, no entry point into the fields could be found.

This follows an emergency services alert which was sent out after 1am this morning, which said a road traffic incident had occurred in the area.

Police have been unable to provide details on the incident.

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