HULL City boss Marco Silva may want a pitch battle over a rugby league side playing at their ground less than 24 hours earlier – but SunSport has found his may be a phoney war.
The Tigers’ chief hit out after their win over Swansea at Hull FC playing St Helens at the KCOM Stadium on Friday night.
“One team plays rugby on the Friday and then we play – for me, it’s impossible at this level,” Silva said. “I’ve said this to our board. It’s impossible.”
But SunSport has uncovered several more instances where the proud Black and Whites, current Challenge Cup holders, would have cause to grumble.
They include playing on a virtual sandpit in a Challenge Cup quarter final last year as pitch work had just been done, missing four weeks of home matches this year as reseeding work is planned and several priceless pictures of club legends being removed.
Also, SunSport has learned City have played on the surface four times in two weeks, including a development squad game against Coventry on Monday and a friendly against a team backed by their main sponsors, while Hull FC’s second string has played there once in recent years.
The two clubs share the KCOM Stadium equally, meaning one side does not have priority over another and has led to issues.
Hull FC even had to cope with a scarred surface in 2013 after Hull City owner Assem Ellam staged a squash tournament on the pitch!
And a pitch expert has said that rugby league does not do as much damage to a pitch as football, as was found when Manchester United did a study on Old Trafford’s surface 16 years ago.
Carl Pass, who owns Premier Pitches, said: “Of the two codes, rugby league is definitely the lesser of two evils.
“In rugby union, the scrums and mauls put a lot more strain on a pitch, whereas rugby league does less damage than football because the ball is in the air so much and the players aren’t slide tackling each other – the players put the brutal hits on each other.”
Pass, whose company works with several Football League and Premier League clubs, believes the ground staff – who SunSport understands are inclined to agree with the rugby league v football argument – can repair the pitch sufficiently in the small gap they had.
But he believes the best way to avoid any arguments or rows is to reverse the fixtures.
He added: “The ideal scenario would be for the football team to play on the Friday and the rugby team on the Saturday as having a good surface is not as integral to rugby as it is football.
“But the groundstaff can reinstate the pitch and put it back to how it should be. However, that all depends on the general health of the pitch in the first place.
“If you’ve got an average pitch, you’ll get poor results but if you’ve got a good pitch, you’ve more of a chance.
“Turning a stadium around in one night is not ideal, though. At Hull say, the groundstaff would have to take the rugby posts down and do any pitch work, then return to do further pitch work, put football goals up and remark the pitch!”
The KCOM Stadium has a Desso pitch, which is designed for multi-use and sees fibres injected into the grass.
It is not the only stadium to have one, as Bristol City’s Ashton Gate sees 23 home Championship games, as well as Bristol RUFC’s home games!
However, Pass said there is a new player on the block that could effectively see a pitch become like a carpet.
He said: “The Hero system would be ideal for rugby league. It’s essentially a carpet of grass with fibres sewn into them that you can then grow grass into.
“It’s been around for a few years but isn’t really used in the UK – Brentford have one at their stadium and training ground and Real Madrid are getting one next year.”
Geoff Webb, chief executive of the Institute of Groundkeeping, also believes Silva's outburst shows the pitch is not the problem.
He said: "Arrangements with football clubs sharing grounds with RFL and RFU clubs, have been happening for a number of years.
"Normally through good management, over the entire season, the quality of surface is not an issue. Such comments from both managers demonstrate the overall exceptional quality of pitches today.
"Unfortunately, TV at times dictates fixtures and the only way that sharing pitches can work is with good communication between the two clubs.
"Managing the capacity and timing of matches or events is all part of the modern day mix of good management. It is in the interest of the sports clubs involved to create the conditions for the optimum surface come match day.
"So communication is key, providing time between events crucial to continued performance of the playing surface."
Hull are not the only Super League side to share a stadium with a football team. Wigan are still being investigated after their match with Widnes was called off, then switched at short notice.
However, it is believed rugby is not the main issue with the poor DW Stadium surface but drainage.
Huddersfield Giants have also started to bring forward their games if they are at home in the same week as promotion-chasing Huddersfield Town.
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