Auckland confirmed for 2nd test
WELLINGTON: Eden Park has been confirmed as the venue for the second Bledisloe Cup test between the All Blacks and Wallabies on October 18 after the Government said Auckland would move to Alert Level 1.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday the Level 2 restrictions would be lifted at 11.59pm tomorrow bringing the city in line with the rest of the country and allowing Eden Park to host the game with no restrictions on crowd size.
Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin had been placed on standby if the restrictions had not been lifted.
Ms Ardern added that while masks would not be required under the new alert level, those attending the game should be mindful of possible further outbreaks of Covid19.
‘‘We definitely want people scanning [their Covidtracking app] and taking note of where they are sitting,’’ she said.
‘‘We want them washing their hands. We definitely don’t want them attending if they are feeling unwell.’’
The August outbreak of Covid in the region forced New Zealand Rugby to cancel the final match of Super Rugby Aotearoa between the Blues and Crusaders and shift the NorthSouth game to Wellington.
‘‘Auckland fans missed out on both [matches] . . . so this is positive news that they will be able to enjoy test match rugby,’’ NZR head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum said.
Wellington’s Sky Stadium will host the first game on Sunday and Lendrum said almost 28,000 tickets had been sold.
The stadium has a permanent capacity of 34,500. — Reuters