Assistant coach Chev Walker has his say on Leeds Rhinos’ sandy pitch

One of the more interesting talking points from today’s West Yorkshire derby between Leeds Rhinos and the Bradford Bulls centred around the Headingley pitch.

The side closest to the western terraces was almost exclusively sand it seemed and this is due to problems caused by a recent event at the stadium.

You will have no doubt seen Leeds’ bold new third kit for the new season which is pink, white and yellow and celebrates many landmarks in the city.

The kit is a homage to the City of Culture events taking place in 2023 in Leeds which started with a huge event and concert at Headingley a few weeks ago.

It is this event which has left the section of the pitch closest to the away supporters in trouble and covered in sand as we saw today.

Headingley pitch showing scars from the concert here the other week. 2.30 kick off for Rhinos v Bulls. pic.twitter.com/tCh70vXvzP

— Peter Smith (@PeterSmithYEP) January 29, 2023

Having attended the club’s media day on Tuesday, the club are taking swift action to resolve this issue with their first home game coming against Hull FC at the end of February as Rohan Smith welcomes his uncle Tony back to his old stomping ground.

After today’s win over Bradford, assistant coach Chev Walker played down talk about the pitch:

“I didn’t play on it, there’s been no complaints by the lads about the field. It seems alright, plenty of sand. Seemed alright when I was out there for the warm up.”