Wellington: Wellington’s Westpac Stadium has passed safety tests and will host Saturday’s Rugby Championship tie between the All Blacks and Australia, New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said yesterday.
The stadium, which was closed as a precautionary measure in the wake of an earthquake on Friday, was granted approval following a detailed engineering assessment for the sold-out match expected to draw 38,000 fans.
“It’s great news we can host a sell-out crowd in a safe stadium as planned,” Tew said in a statement.
“Public safety is of paramount importance to us, so it was essential we received reassurances from engineers before continuing with our planning.”
The stadium suffered minor damage, such as chipped concrete and broken glassware, but repairing would be complete well before the match, stadium chief executive Shane Harmon said.
“We can assure ticket-holders that the stadium is structurally sound and that there is no greater level of risk than existed before the recent earthquakes. Our engineers have said that the building has performed as expected,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the Kangaroos’ greatest goal-kicking wingers Noel Pidding has died aged 86, the Australian Rugby League said.
Pidding, a championship winner with the St George Dragons in 1949, set a number of point-scoring records during a decorated first-grade career spanning 10 seasons.
On the 1952 Kangaroos tour to England and France, Pidding amassed 228 points, second only to Dave Brown’s record of 285.
AGENCIES
