The Crusaders have abandoned plans to play a Super Rugby match in Fiji and will instead stage the “home” fixture in Nelson.
With Christchurch’s AMI Stadium unavailable because of a clash with the Fifa Under 20 World Cup Tournament, the Crusaders administrators investigated whether the May 29 fixture against the Hurricanes could be played at the ANZ Stadium.
Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach said Nelson had always been one of the options under consideration and was confirmed at a board meeting yesterday.
He added that the decision to scrap the Fiji trip comes in the wake of Crusaders first five-eighth Dan Carter stating he wanted the game played at Nelson’s Trafalgar Park.
Nelson has a population of 46,200 and Trafalgar Park’s seating capacity is 18,000.
All Blacks star Carter, who has made 128 appearances for the Crusaders since 2003, urged the administrators to cancel the Fiji game because he did not want to be denied the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd.
Source: Stuff.co
