2011 WORLD CUP:INTERNATIONAL RUGBY Board (IRB) officials will await news on the extent of damage from yesterday's earthquake before making any decision on the seven games to be played in Christchruch in the Rugby World Cup later this year.
An official contingency plan was put in place for the event before the last earthquake to hit Christchurch in September 2010, in which there were no fatalities.
Seven matches, including two quarter-finals, are scheduled for Stadium Christchurch, which has been recently renovated to bring the capacity up to 45,000 for RWC matches. Australia face Italy and Russia, England play Georgia and Argentina and Scotland play against Argentina in Christchurch. Ireland do not play any pool games in the city.
Organisers have declined to make the contingency plan public because of commercial sensitivities and national security concerns. But media reports as recently as December 2010 say it includes extreme disaster scenarios, ranging from a devastating stadium fire or crowd-crush incidents, to transport chaos.
An IRB official confirmed yesterday the issue was discussed last summer.
“Yes, there is a contingency plan in place,” said the official. “We went through it in September after the earthquake then. A contingency plan is always in place as with every World Cup.”
“The extent of the damage in September was far less than now. We are working in partnership with the government and RWC 2011 to see the extent of the damage. Obviously the loss of life is the most important aspect of the disaster at this stage.”
One of the buildings that was damaged in the recent event was the Christchurch Cathedral, which is less than 50 metres away from the Millennium Hotel, where the Australian team were due to stay.
Now, not only safety issues but a growing lack of quality accommodation is becoming one of the biggest issues facing World Cup organisers.
Cathedral Square, which is in the heart of the city and was to be transformed into a Fan Zone, is a short walk from Stadium Christchurch.
Ireland team coach, Alan Gaffney, opened yesterday’s Irish team press conference by expressing his and the team’s concern at the events in New Zealand.
“The players the coaches and the management are extremely disturbed by what has happened over in Christchurch,” said Gaffney.
“The amount of lives that have been lost, it is something that is hard to comprehend and it is probably going to get a lot worse. Our sympathies go out to them.”
Stadium Christchurch RWC 2011 matches: September 10th: Argentina v England. September 11th: Australia v Italy. September 18th: England v Georgia. September 25th: Argentina v Scotland. October 1st: Australia v Russia. October 8th and 9th: Quarter-finals.
