The Crusaders have moved their remaining “home” Super Rugby matches to Napier, Wellington, Timaru and back to Nelson.
AMI Stadium has been ruled out for the rest of the year so the Crusaders had to move their matches to other grounds.
This weekend the Crusaders are playing the Sharks in London England and have already played two home matches in Nelson.
They have five home matches remaining and two of those will be in Timaru and one each in Nelson, Napier and Wellington.
There had been talk of Auckland’s Eden Park picking up a match or two but this has not materialised. However this could still happen as the Crusaders look likely to reach the play offs for which they will need a large venue.
Crusaders Chief Executive Hamish Riach said: “We are happy to now give some clarity around the remaining home games for the Crusaders. It is great that the Crusaders match against the Sharks is being received so positively in London and back home, and that bodes well for the rest of our season.
“We head to Timaru twice, which is great news for us and all our Crusaders fans in that part of our community, and we’re delighted to be going back to Nelson for the Easter round, after enjoying fantastic success and support of our matches against the Waratahs and Brumbies there.
“We saw the Hawkes Bay Rugby Union’s offer to play one of our home games in Napier as a great fit for us.”
“It allows us to play in front of the home crowd of a number of Crusaders, including Zac Guildford, Kahn Fotuali’i, and Israel Dagg while at the same time, taking a bit of pressure off the relatively smaller communities in Nelson and Timaru.
“Playing the Hurricanes in Wellington feels like a really appropriate way to repay the wonderful support we got from the Hurricanes at the time of the abandoned round two game, and gives both Hurricanes and Crusaders fans in that part of New Zealand a chance to enjoy the next chapter in our hard-fought rivalry”.
SANZAR CEO Greg Peters said they supported the Crusaders’ decisions around their home games for the remainder of the Super Rugby 2011 season.
“The Crusaders have been through several tough weeks since the devastating Christchurch quake and it has taken a big effort to relocate their home matches from the damaged AMI Stadium.
“We’ve been happy to support the Crusaders and to work closely with them on alternative home venues, both of us working to ensure matches take place with minimum disruption to either the Crusaders or the teams they will host between April and June.
“It has also helped that four of the five matches in question are New Zealand derbies, ” Peters told the NZRU.
Crusaders rescheduled home fixtures.
ROUND 8: April 9 Crusaders v Bulls, Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru
ROUND 10: April 23 Crusaders v Highlanders, Trafalgar Park, Nelson
ROUND 14: May 21 Crusaders v Chiefs, McLean Park Napier
ROUND 17: June 11 Crusaders v Blues, Alpine Engery Stadium, Timaru
ROUND 18: June 18 Crusaders v Hurricanes, Westpac Stadium, Wellington