World Cup venue shifts announced

Silt and a half fallen fence sit at one of the entrances to the PKMC stand, off Stevens Street, at AMI Stadium, which suffered significant damage in the earthquake. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Rugby World Cup matches originally scheduled for Christchurch have been allocated to another three South Island cities in the wake of last month's devastating earthquake.

Nelson, Dunedin and Invercargill will host pool games set down for Christchurch while two other matches have been reallocated to Wellington and Albany.

Organisers confirmed a fortnight ago that two quarterfinals earmarked for Christchurch will instead be played in Auckland on October 8 and 9.

Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011) today announced a raft of changes to the original tournament schedule forced upon it by major infrastructural damage inflicted on Christchurch by the February 22 earthquake which killed an estimated 182 people.

Rugby World Cup Ltd chairman Bernard Lapasset said that all tournament stakeholders had been supportive throughout the rescheduling process.

"Following the difficult decision to transfer the Christchurch matches all involved have worked hard to confirm the new venues as quickly as possible. We are pleased that three of the five matches will remain in the South Island."

RNZ 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden said today's decisions provided certainty for the affected seven teams.

RNZ 2011 also announced that the new fully enclosed Otago Stadium in Dunedin, which is nearing completion, has met the criteria to be confirmed as a World Cup match venue.

"The Otago Stadium operators have provided us with the assurances we need for us to now be confident that the new venue will be ready to deliver on its tournament obligations," Snedden said.

The rescheduled matches will see Argentina play England in Dunedin on September 10, Australia play Italy at Albany on September 11, England play Georgia in Dunedin on September 18, Argentina play Scotland in Wellington on September 25 and Australia play Russia at Nelson on October 1.

Also, as part of the rescheduling, operational reasons have necessitated the transfer of one non-Christchurch match, Scotland against Georgia, from Dunedin to Invercargill on September 14.

"Our desire was always to transfer as many of the Christchurch pool matches as was reasonably possible to other existing South Island venues," Snedden said.

Organisers also said that ticket purchasers for all Christchurch matches and Scotland's game against Georgia match will receive a refund and the opportunity to secure replacement tickets to the rescheduled matches during a priority purchase period.

As well, the rescheduling decisions have also meant a number of changes to team bases.

Queenstown will now host Georgia as well as Ireland, Romania and England while Hanmer Springs in north Canterbury becomes a new team base and will host Australia over four nights.

Rescheduled pool matches:

* Sept 10 Pool B 20.30 Argentina v England - Otago Stadium, Dunedin

* Sept 11 Pool C 15.30 Australia v Italy - North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

* Sept 18 Pool B 18.00 England v Georgia - Otago Stadium, Dunedin

* Sept 25 Pool B 20.30 Argentina v Scotland - Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington

* Oct 1 Pool C 15.30 Australia v Russia - Trafalgar Park, Nelson

- NZPA, NZ Herald staff