Bledisloe Cup: New Zealand v Australia
Bledisloe venue given all clear
August 19, 2013
New Zealand take to the field for a training session, All Blacks training session, Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand, July 15, 2010
Wellington's Westpac Stadium has been tested for structural integrity © Getty Images
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Wellington's Westpac Stadium has been given the all-clear for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup Test between New Zealand and Australia.

A detailed engineering assessment was made of the venue for the second match in the three-game series and New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew said the clearance was good news.

"It's great news we can host a sell-out crowd in a safe stadium as planned," he said. "Public safety is of paramount importance to us so it was essential we received assurances from engineers before continuing with our planning."

The stadium closed its doors after Friday's earthquake and stadium chief executive Shane Harmon said: "We followed the same process as we did for the recent July earthquake. We will always take a conservative approach in the event of a major earthquake.

"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 said.

There was some chipped concrete and broken glassware but any repairs would be carried out quickly.

Tew said the NZRU would continue to monitor the situation but was now focused on hosting the match, which is expected to draw a crowd of 38,000.

© Sportal

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