British & Irish Lions
Hong Kong pitch causes captains' run conundrum
Tom Hamilton in Hong Kong
May 31, 2013
Owen Farrell tests out the Hong Stadium turf © Getty Images
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Concerns over the state of the Hong Kong Stadium pitch have caused the Barbarians and the British & Irish Lions to take their captain's runs elsewhere, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Hong Kong Stadium will stage the opening match of the Lions tour' on Saturday but the pitch has a reputation for cutting up. And to prevent any repeat of the previous Bledisloe Cup encounters of 2008 and 2010, where the players struggled to find their feet in the scrum, organisers have deemed it necessary to move the captain's run, the traditional training session the day before a match, away from the ground.

A Hong Kong Rugby Football Union spokesman told the newspaper he hoped this would "minimise any disturbance to the pitch".

The Lions will now have their captain's run at Aberdeen Sports Ground, a pitch in the south of Hong Kong Island, instead of at So Kon Po. But organisers have allowed the kickers from both sides to get their bearings at the stadium prior to Saturday's match.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Tom Hamilton is the Assistant Editor of ESPNscrum.

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