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Wellington - The Crusaders will play their next two Vodacom Super Rugby matches in Nelson after their stadium was damaged in the deadly Christchurch earthquake, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said on Friday.
The Crusaders, whose board member Philip McDonald was among the 113 confirmed dead in Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude quake, have cancelled their second match against the Wellington Hurricanes scheduled for this weekend.
They were scheduled to host the Waratahs in Christchurch on March 4 but this match, and the game against Brumbies on March 11, will now be switched to Nelson's 20 000-seater Trafalgar Park.
"While we can't play at our first choice home ground for now, Nelson is still a real home for the Crusaders and we're looking forward to Crusaders fans in the region coming out to support the team for these first two home games," Crusaders chief Hamish Riach said in a statement.
"We are especially grateful to the Waratahs and the Brumbies, who have willingly agreed to change their travel schedules from Australia to accommodate our change of venue."
The owners of the Crusaders' AMI Stadium home have confirmed damage to fixtures and fittings and liquefaction within the ground, including on the playing surface.
Although the stadium will be closed until March 15 to assess the damage, Crusaders team manager Tony Thorpe told NZPA that the reality was that they would be unable to play any more matches there this season.
The stadium is also scheduled to host seven matches, including two quarter-finals, at the World Cup later in the year.
