THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS



Published Date: 05 May 2009
By DAVID FERGUSON
MURRAYFIELD'S grounds chief Mark Laidlaw has insisted that the national pitch will be in fine condition for this weekend's Scottish Hydro Electric Cup finals after a weekend of Super League matches.
The SRU has attracted a host of events for May in a bid to generate new income and after the four club finals on Sunday, the Heineken Cup final will be staged at Murrayfield with the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens in the final weekend of the month

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The SRU has trumpeted the weekly attractions as highlighting the lure of Scotland's rugby stadium and boosting the Scottish economy, but it, clearly, generates fears that the pitch could suffer serious damage that ultimately affects its long-term quality.

Laidlaw, the Murrayfield Stadium manager, said: "We have known about this schedule for some time and prepared a lot for it, and there will not be any major damage done to it.

"We've left the grass a little bit longer than normal and it is being well fed in the weeks between each event. The rugby league is interesting in that it is so fast-paced, and does not have the same scrums, rucks, mauls and lineouts of union, so it's much like sevens in having much less effect on the pitch than a XVs game.

"We will work hard again this week to tidy up the appearance as the aesthetics do get damaged with these number of games, but the actual pitch is very stable and I'm very happy with it."

One senses that some previous groundsmen at Murrayfield would tear their hair out at being handed such an intense schedule, with one of the longest-serving groundsmen, Bill Elwood, famously refusing to even allow players on to the pitch to warm-up for internationals.

However, Laidlaw accepts the need to ensure the stadium generates much-needed income for Scottish rugby, and believes its reputation, among TV audiences and players, will not suffer in the coming weeks.

"Far from it," he added. "We've been delighted with this weekend. It's possibly the best event we've had at Murrayfield in terms of the whole feel of it, the friendliness, the organisation and atmosphere, and it is important that Murrayfield is used and seen to be an active, exciting venue, which comes with quality events like this.

"If the other events go as well, then Murrayfield is only going to reaffirm its standing as one of the best stadiums in the world."

This article was posted on 5-May-2009, 07:19 by Hugh Barrow.