The match between the Maori All Blacks and the invitational Asia-Pacific Barbarians scheduled for Nov. 15 has been cancelled, due to the poor quality of the National Stadium pitch.
The National Stadium, part of the billion-dollar Singapore Sports Hub complex, has been widely criticised for being too sandy, among other things. Sport Singapore has even declared it will not pay the Hub for use of the pitch until something is done about its current state, deemed unsuitable for competitive games.
According to Reuters, New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) general manager for planning and operations Nigel Cass said, “We feel somewhat let down that his happened at this late stage.”
“However, the safety of our players is paramount and we were unable to get the assurances we needed that the pitch was playable.”
The cancellation threatens the plans of the Asia-Pacific Barbarians owners, who intend to bid for the 18th Super Rugby licence with a team out of Singapore.
Their bid and another from Japan are the two finalists for the expanded edition of the competition in 2016.
Photo: @AllBlacks
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