MEDIA MOVEMENT: RUGBY WORLD CUP MATCHES IN CHRISTCHURCH ON HOLD AFTER QUAKE

the All Blacks

In the wake of the earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand that left the city reeling and more than 75 of its citizens dead, the fate of the Rugby World Cup matches scheduled for that city remains unknown. “Right now it doesn’t feel like we could host very much at all,” Hamish Riach, chief executive officer of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union. Christchurch planned to host seven games, the most behind Auckland, including two quarterfinal matches, all at AMI Stadium in September and October. The stadium suffered liquefaction in which the pitch bubbled as high 1.5 feet in some places and could take as many five months to fix.

The city, still in the middle of a massive rescue effort, will not be able to fully asses the damage to the stadium or make any rulings on the Rugby World Cup until the emergency of the situation has passed. If the Christchurch games are canceled, they would likely be moved to Australia.

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By Lennon Bergland

via Bloomberg