Edinburgh Rugby to face Ospreys at Meggetland

Boroughmuir's ground at Meggetland, seen here prepared for a gridiron match. Picture: Complimentary

The capital club have announced they will play February 28’s RaboDirect Pro 12 match against Ospreys at Meggetland, the home of Boroughmuir Rugby Club.

Murrayfield is due to host Scotland’s first RBS 6 Nations home match of this year’s championships against England on Saturday.

But it was dubbed “Maggotfield” by sections of the English media earlier this week as a result of the Nematode problem which has seen the playing surface cut-up badly during recent contests.

The Scottish Rugby Union’s ground staff have been treating the pitch with a garlic spray in a bid to solve the issue but have now decided to move Edinburgh’s next fixture in a bid to preserve the pitch for next month’s Six Nations meeting with France.

Edinburgh Rugby managing director David Davies said: “Everyone at the club is really excited about this temporary move to Meggetland.

“We’ve taken a lot of time and care to select the best venue for this fixture and that limits the inconvenience to our fans. We’re working hard to make the most of this opportunity to pack out the stands with black and red.

“Pre-sales and season ticket memberships mean that the ground - which can hold about 3,000 - is already at 85 per cent of capacity, so we urge all fans to buy their tickets early and guarantee their place at this great opportunity to cheer on the club at close quarters.”

The SRU announced on Tuesday that the Murrayfield pitch will be transformed into a hybrid grass park in time for next season.

The replacement surface, Desso Grassmaster, is a natural sports grass pitch reinforced by millions of artificial turf fibres, which is said to have a faster recovery than pure grass, allowing stadia to host more than 40 fixtures in a season.