Ireland heads into their crucial Rugby World Cup Pool A clash against Samoa tonight with serious concerns over the state of the pitch in Fukuoka.
Players were seen lifting strips of turf off the ground during Friday's captain's run.
👀 Big pitch concerns for Ireland in Fukuoka #IREvSAM pic.twitter.com/4ZW7LTlkq8
— Ruth Gorman (@RuthGorman_UTV) October 11, 2019
World Rugby, in conjunction with the tournament's organising committee, took the decision to re-lay the pitch at Hakatanomori Stadium following France's match against the United States on October 2.
However, it appears the new turf has not yet bedded in. Chris Farrell was filmed placing a rugby ball under one of the strips of grass at one point during training.
Given the ongoing controversy over Typhoon Hagibis, the last thing World Rugby needs now is players injuring themselves due to a pitch cutting up badly. Ireland's assistant coach Greg Feek says he did not want to cause any more controversy at this stage.
But Joe Schmidt, Ireland's head coach, looked far from happy during the publicly accessible part of training.
[Source:NZHerald]
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