Stephen Ferris: I'd be frightened to play on artificial pitches

Stephen Ferris says he'd be "frightened" to play on an artificial surface and warned the reduced natural impact absorption will lead to injuries that would not occur on grass.

Ferris was reflecting on the knee injury Munster's Jack O'Donoghue suffered during his team's 22-9 defeat to Connacht on the Sportsground's 4G pitch.

O'Donoghue was caught after a hit by Byron Ralston, with Munster head coach Graham Rowntree afterwards calling it "a horrible side entry and his knee got twisted".

Ferris believes the challenge was not a bad one; rather O'Donoghue was simply unfortunate, with the pitch a major factor in the incident.

"There wasn't actually that much impact," he told RTÉ's Game On.

"I think there was only maybe ten degrees in Jack O'Donoghue's legs when he was hit and then he went into that hyper extension.

"It was one of those ones for me that was just really, really unlucky. It would have been play on if he hadn't hurt himself.

"It was a conversation I had with Rob Kearney in the [TV] studio... if that was a grass surface do you reckon when his knee was hit with the shoulder that there would have been a bit of give underneath the studs? We sort of just looked at each other and nodded. Quite possibly there would have been a bit more give."

Munster's Cork base, Irish Independent Park, has a 3G surface while Ulster have installed a new 3G pitch on Kingspan Stadium, with Ferris admitting he'd have serious concerns if he was being asked to play on it regularly.

"I actually had a pair of boots on on the one in Belfast a couple of weeks ago and genuinely I'd be frightened to play on it," he said.

"The foot just does not go anywhere, no slippage whatsoever and running at high pace, high intensity, strong movement, big guys, I think