Ground closed to protect turf

The Queenstown Rec Ground has been closed by Lakes Leisure to meet Rugby World Cup turf requirements.

Queenstown will be hosting England, Ireland, Romania and Georgia for training during RWC 2011, at the Queenstown Events Centre Oval and the Queenstown Rec Ground.

Lakes Leisure turf manager Pete Domigan said that under the Queenstown Lakes District Council's contract with RWCNZ, there were "extremely stringent" standards for the quality of turf provided for the teams.

One of the primary requirements was to ensure there were no "grass-bare areas" larger than 50mm in diameter.

This meant worm eradication was essential, as worm activity sealed the ground surface and inhibited drainage, but it was also necessary to limit access to the grounds to protect them from damage.

Lakes Leisure turf manager Pete Domigan said that was particularly important in Queenstown's climate. Grass could not grow in ground temperatures of less than 8degC, so the grounds would noy be able to recover from any "wear and tear".

Mr Domigan said the standards set by RWCNZ were "challenging", but he was confident they would be met.

"Turf management is always a challenge in Queenstown at this time of year, but so long as we are working to schedule and we protect the grounds from any use over the next few cold months, we won't have any problems delivering the visiting teams a top-quality playing surface.

"We realise that this will cause some frustrations and ask the community for patience as we endeavour to look after the condition of the grounds," he said.

Ireland and England will train at the Queenstown Events Centre Oval and Romania and Georgia will use the Queenstown Recreation Ground.

The teams will be in Queenstown for both training and recreation in the first two weeks of September.