You may remember back in April we ran a story which had made the press of Welsh rugby players complaining of getting 'burnt' by the 3G pitch at Pontypridd RFC's Sardis Road ground.

Some quite gruesome photos were released of skinless kness and bright red elbows. At the time an investigation was promised to look into what had gone on - clearly something wasn't right.

Well it turns out the matter has been frustratingly dragging on for Pontypridd since then - until matters came to a conclusion just over a week ago when it was announced that the offending pitch was to be ripped up and replaced.

Before the decision was reached to replace the pitch though, the ongoing saga had been described by the club as 'damaging'. A statement on their website described what had gone on this past few months: "Long drawn out discussions and numerous inspections have ensued, involving the IRB, WRU, local authorities, pitch suppliers and contractors. Although complying fully with all investigations, Pontypridd RFC has been frustrated in its attempts to bring matters to a swift conclusion, relying on decisions made by others, which changed by the week if not sometimes by the day."

One of the club's directors, Jack Bayliss said, "The situation over the past three months has been far from satisfactory. We have been denied the use of our pitch for long periods whilst testing and investigations went on, with which we fully complied, but without being able to push for a final decision."

So it must have come as a significant relief to the club just over a week ago when it was announced that a replacement surface would bring an end this frustrating period. It also seems to have come as a surprise to onlookers with the headline on Wales Online describing the move as an "extraordinary twist" in the end to a long-running saga.

That Wales Online report also refers to it being unclear where the funding has come from for this new pitch.

Subsequently to that reports questioning, an official statement was posted on Pontypridd's website from Desso Sports Systems, who supplied the original pitch.

The statement read, "Desso Sports is committed to the quality and safety of all our products.

“The Pontypridd pitch is no exception, and it has passed World Rugby Regulation 22 testing in the lab and the field, and has been certified by World Rugby as compliant.

“We are also aware of recent skin friction concerns regarding this pitch. Our goal is always to be a collaborative partner with World Rugby. This is why, under no contractual obligation to the buyer, we will install a new surface at Pontypridd Rugby Club.

“This new turf system will allow us to work with the Rugby Federation to further develop our understanding of the requirements of rugby use on synthetic turf and continue to optimize our products.”

So does that mean Desso Sports is paying for the new pitch? I guess that's great news for the club if it is the case.

I wonder whether any other users of the same pitch system will have some concerns now though? 

If this new pitch is going to allow the company to "further develop our understanding of the requirements of rugby use on synthetic turf and continue to optimize our product" - one would imagine clubs using the current system would be very keen to hear of any results which come from this monitoring?