Following on from last week's story that Worcester Warriors are set to convert their playing surface to a new generation of artificial pitch for next season, their director of rugby Dean Ryan has offered a very telling quote on the subject.

He has told the Worcester News in an interview that he believes the new pitch is a "commercial decision".

Now whilst of course no one is naive enough to believe professional sport's number one priority is anything other than making money - it does make the kid in me a little sad that the decision seemingly had little to do with the success of the team or the enjoyment of the fans.

Ryan told the paper, "I think the artificial surface is a commercial decision which is about utilising the ground at a time when where we’re not using it and that’s about it.

“If it raises finances to put the club on a more secure footing then fine. It’s part of the progress of the game. But it’s very much a commercial decision to get full utilisation out of the stadium.

“Those are the reasons it is being done and let’s see how much the club can utilise it.”

Whilst I'm not disputing Ryan's belief in what he's saying here, it doesn't exactly strike me as a ringing endorsement, brimming with enthusiasm.

He goes on to say, "I don’t think there’s anybody we would or wouldn’t sign because of an artificial surface." - Which implies to me that he's been forced to at least consider the possibility that this commercial decision may well influence some players thinking as to whether they would come play for the Warriors or not?

And who does that benefit?

To be fair to Ryan he does conclude his interview pragmatically saying, "We have not had any problems with the synthetic surface we’ve got as a training surface or the times we’ve played on it.

“I think it does influence the way the game is played but how much I am yet to find out.

“A surface with consistency is something you can only ask for. I have not seen the new surface they are talking about so I have yet to see what it is.”

A question which seems to arise from this debate is should the groundsmanship industry be worried that natural surfaces are increasing being seen as a hindrance to clubs maximising profits?

I suppose as long as those making this 'commercial decision' for Worcester, and other clubs like them, understand that an artificial pitch doesn't just magically look after itself, and skilled professionals still need to be paid fairly to keep it in useable condition, this is the inevitable future which the industry is facing.