MIDLANDS HURRICANES centre Ryan Johnson accepts he and his teammates need to get used to playing on different types of pitches after their hopes of making the last 16 of the Challenge Cup were put out to grass at Keighley.
Mark Dunning’s side were 14-6 to the good after second rower Oliver Roberts’ second try of the game on 66 minutes and scrum-half Lewis Else’s conversion.
But on a sticky Cougar Park surface, Keighley hit back and edged it through Johnson’s old Sheffield teammate Izaac Farrell’s last-gasp try.
Midlands, whose frustration was compounded by injuries which forced off backs Ross Oakes, Luis Roberts and Danny Craven and necessitated some in-match reshuffling, went into the tie on the back of home wins over Welsh amateurs Aberavon Fighting Irish in round two of the cup and Doncaster in the league.
The Birmingham team’s new base of Avery Fields, the home of rugby union club Bournville in the Edgbaston area of the city, has an artificial surface.
And former Hull FC youngster Johnson, 25, who joined Midlands from Sheffield ahead of last season after previously playing for them on dual registration, said the Keighley pitch had an effect.
“The conditions were tough. We played the previous three games on astroturf (Newcastle won 28-10 at Avery Fields in the first round of the Championship), and were able to play quite a fast style, so it was a bit different, and heavier on the legs,” he explained.
“We got close to winning, and it was so disappointing to miss out on making the next round, but we have to take it on the chin, learn the lessons and move on.”
Having won 28-14 at Goole, who also have an artificial pitch, on Saturday, Midlands have home games against Batley on Sunday, then Oldham, before visiting Whitehaven, another grass pitch, on Sunday, March 8.
On the injury situation, Johnson added: “It’s disappointing, but we have a deep enough squad to cope with any absences.”