Leeds Rhinos halfback Blake Austin has hit out at the Rugby League World Cup after using Kingston Park as a venue. The home of Newcastle Thunder has a synthetic grass surface, with Italy's Nathan Brown having his own problems after playing on the turf.
Brown, who plays for Parramatta Eels in the NRL, has struggled on the 4G turf, revealing the extent of his situation earlier this month. The Italians played on the surface against both Scotland and Fiji, before taking on Australia in St Helens.
"I'm not used to playing on these surfaces," he said. "I couldn't walk to be honest, for five days it was a bit of a weird situation.
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"I went to the hospital here and got on antibiotics. I was limping around, I couldn't really bend my knee. Everything was swollen and tightened up."
Brown played in all three of Italy's group matches as the Azzurri were knocked out of the tournament following defeats to Fiji and Australia after beating Scotland in their opening game.
Austin, meanwhile, was critical of the venue choice, with many rugby league players complaining about such surfaces since Widnes introduced them to Super League back in 2012.
"Imagine thinking at a World Cup it's acceptable to play on 4G," Austin posted on his Instagram. "Game that keeps on giving. Should be illegal to play rugby on."
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