The condition of the pitch for Saturday’s Tri-Nations match between Australia and New Zealand is causing concern after players from a rival football code threatened to boycott the venue.
The Wallabies host the All Blacks at Melbourne’s Docklands stadium on Saturday, a day after an Australian Rules match is scheduled to be played on the brittle turf.
The Australian Rules players association has described the surface as an “ice skating rink” and demanded the league’s governing body fix it or consider moving games after a number of players slipped during matches last weekend.
The Australian Football League, the stadium’s major tenant, promised measures to make the surface safer, but All Blacks coach Graham Henry said on Tuesday little could be done before Saturday’s Test.
“We are visiting the stadium tomorrow and the reality is there’s a Test match there at eight o’clock on Saturday night and I don’t think they can do much with the ground between now and eight o’clock on Saturday night,” he told reporters.
“We’re just going to have to do our best with it … jumping up and down is not going to make a difference.”
The surface at the stadium, which has a retractable roof, has courted controversy for a number of years but reached fever pitch in recent weeks with a number of Australian Rules players suffering injuries after slipping during play.
“It’s a pity that we can’t train there, which is disappointing,” Henry added. “We’ll have a good look at it tomorrow afternoon after training.
“What I’ve been told is that it’s a very short root system. If that’s the case it may mean that the grass might roll up underneath the scrums, which would make it difficult.”
‘Up to scratch’
Australia coach Robbie Deans was less concerned about the surface, saying the Wallabies would play on asphalt if they had to.
“The playing surface will be consistent for both sides and we’re really looking forward to [the match)]” he told reporters.
“There’s sure to be a lot of players falling over on Saturday night and it will have nothing to do with the surface.”
The venue for the Tri-Nations is unlikely to be switched with most tickets sold and a crowd of more than 50 000 expected.
“We certainly wouldn’t be inclined to send players out on a surface that is deemed to be very dangerous,” Omar Hassanein, acting chief executive of Australia’s Rugby Union Players Association, told local media.
“We’re confident there is a management plan in place that will have it up to scratch by Saturday. It’s a pretty big call to be shifting a Bledisloe Cup match at this point in time.” – Reuters