Putting covers on the pitch would not have made it playable.
Its been sub zero during the day and dropping to near double digit sub zero at night.
At that sort of temperatures even under soil heating would be having a job to keep a pitch playable.
The real issue is why are the RFL starting the season at the beginning of February, when there is a good chance that weather will be as bad as it has been.
The season should be kicking off no earlier than March and finishing no later than the back end of October.
Unfortunately the RFL sticks in silly fixtures like the magic Magic weekend and the Exiles game, necessitating the need to start the season in the first week of February.
Starting early has pretty much wrecked Saints pitch, parts of it have been burnt due to the air blowers needed to keep the game on. I'm sure if Saints knew Summer rugby would be reverting to a Winter start we would have installed under soil heating, however if its supposed to be a summer game you should not need such fancy bits of kit.