Rugby takes a back seat as Crusaders can Hurricanes clash

[Burgs]

Rugby takes a back seat as Crusaders can Hurricanes clash

Jamie Pandaram
February 24, 2011

THE Crusaders have cancelled this weekend's Super 15 match as players deal with the tragedy of the Christchurch earthquake, and there are doubts about the city's capacity to host World Cup matches later this year.

NSW are scheduled to play the Crusaders there next week but that game will be moved from AMI Stadium, which was left waterlogged following the quake that has claimed at least 75 lives and left hundreds missing.

The Crusaders will today decide whether to possibly to shift the game to Sydney, or play it somewhere else in New Zealand.

Crusaders players and staff held a sombre meeting last night, during which it was decided to scrap the round two clash against the Hurricanes in Wellington, a fully understandable move given the mass human toll, including one of their own in director Philip McDonald. The players want to remain with their families this weekend.

It is now up to SANZAR and the New Zealand Rugby Union to decide if the match can be rescheduled or whether to simply award both sides equal points.

Photos emerged of a flooded AMI Stadium last night, and officials will today reveal the extent of the damage to the newly built venue, but it is highly unlikely the field will be fit to host games any time soon, and the Crusaders might need to find a new home ground.

In fact, there are genuine fears that the seven World Cup games scheduled for Christchurch will have to be moved, not only because of the damaged stadium but the many hotels that collapsed in the quake, greatly reducing the city's accommodation.

The Crusaders players unanimously supported the cancellation of Saturday's game, with most - like their countrymen - in no shape to think about rugby. They will personally deal with their grief, and regather as a team on Monday to restart their Super 15 campaign.

The match against the Waratahs was to have been a fund-raising campaign for victims of the Pike River mine disaster in the region last November when 29 miners were killed, but the charity set up for that campaign has stopped taking donations in light of the quake, and urged people to instead give money to the victims of Tuesday's tragedy.

A Waratahs-Crusaders clash in Sydney could be dedicated to victims of the quake, and both the Sydney Football Stadium and ANZ Stadium would be available.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he hoped World Cup matches could remain in Christchurch, where the Wallabies will be based and play two round-robin games.

''If we can host the Rugby World Cup as we intended to in Christchurch, I'd like to do that,'' Key said. ''It's some way into the future. It's a very important city in New Zealand, and it would be a demonstration that Christchurch is back up on its feet.''

Many rugby players used Twitter to send messages of support to the victims, while Hurricanes prop Neemia Tialata personally contacted SANZAR boss Greg Peters on the networking site to ask for a postponement.

''Wat do u think boss? Hurricanes and Crusader teams postpone sat match but instead help out down Christchurch clean up,'' he tweeted.

Peters replied that it was preferable for the match go ahead, prompting Tialata to urge consideration of Crusaders players with young families such as Brad Thorn, Corey Flynn and Andy Ellis.

''Yeah but can you just imagine how guys like thorny, flynny, Andy and others with kids wouldn't want to leave there (sic) families.''

Peters told the Herald later in the day that he would leave the decision up to the Crusaders .

Rugby NZ 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said regardless of whether Christchurch could host games, no World Cup matches would be moved to Australia. ''There has been speculation that this tragedy puts the entire event in jeopardy or that matches will relocate to Australia. That is not the case,'' he said.

[WA sport fan]

nice gesture.

[hertryk]

Good decision....Bless them all...

[blueandblack]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...l-reaches-160/

"As the death toll from Christchurch's deadly quake reaches 160, New Zealanders have been warned they may not be strolling the city's CBD until Christmas.

And it could be 15 years before the country's second biggest city is fully rebuilt following the devastating 6.3-magnitude quake, Prime Minister John Key says.

Eight days after the tragedy, families and friends of the dead have been allowed through the cordon for the first time to see where their loved ones lost their lives.

More than 250 people signed up for what city mayor Bob Parker called an "emotional tour".

A traditional Maori blessing, called a karakia, was performed at the burnt-out CTV building and the flattened Pyne Gould Corporation building, the two sites with the highest death toll."

[zimeric]

terrible terrible for those affected.. my heart goes out to them

[The InnFORCEr]

Had a few drinks with some friends from Christchurch last night that are over for a wedding. Some very sad and scary stories, they say the stadium is stuffed ground wise and a lot of the grandstand ramps and stairs are ruined, they can't see how it would be ready in time and there has been talk of Dunedin hosting the games instead. In all the bad there was some good, apparently heard on local radio, the All Blacks had just finished training and hit the showers of a small rugby ground when the earthquake hit. The team came running from the shower block, some with just towels around them. One lady standing there had Dan Carter next to her in his towel with arm around her as an after shock hit, he was saying "yuo'll be OK etc" later she said she would have been happy for the ground to open up a swallow the pair of them.