Home comforts can help Leeds cement place in the top four

The club has been forced into taking their last five home fixtures ‘on the road’ because of issues with their playing surface.

Their victory over Plymouth Albion in the first week of January was ordered to be replayed after the referee moved to uncontested scrums early on due to worries over the safety of the new £1m turf.

Since then, Leeds’s groundstaff – working seven days a week – have utilised their new undersoil heating system and brought in additional lighting rigs to help the process of allowing the pitch to bed in.

Subsequently, the RFU’s national panel referee manager Steve Leyshon yesterday attended a training session at Headingley and took charge of 12 scrums across all areas of the field.

There was no significant impact on the scrum caused by the pitch and he deemed it is playable again meaning the club’s big Championship derby with Rotherham Titans on Easter Sunday can now go ahead at their traditional home.

Diccon Edwards’s side, who are at Moseley tomorrow, are seeking the win that will keep them on course for a top-four play-off spot and, crucially, they also host promotion rivals Nottingham on Saturday April 20.

Director of rugby Chris Gibson said: “We are delighted to be coming home to Headingley Carnegie for the Rotherham game.

“I’d like to thank Steve Leyshon for coming up to oversee the scrummaging session and for his time in inspecting the playing surface.

“I’d also like to pay tribute to Jason Booth and the groundstaff team at Headingley Carnegie who have worked tirelessly to try and ensure that we can return home before the end of the season, and the board who have approved the additional spend required to make this happen.

“We now have two massive games at home to try and end the season on a high and cement our place in the top four of the Championship.”

Sale Sharks go into tonight’s Premiership game against Bath boosted by a double signing.

Highly-rated hooker Marc Jones has agreed a new contract with the Premiership strugglers, while Sale have swooped to sign full-back Tom Arscott from rivals London Welsh.

Sale climbed off the Premiership basement at London Welsh’s expense after the Exiles received a five-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in the league this season.