The playing surface at Forsyth Barr Stadium has been renovated this week, with the intention of adding grip to the ground.
That has involved removing the natural grass and replanting it into the artificial surface beneath.
Stadium groundsman Michael Watson said it was something that needed to be done as over time the grip in the surface deteriorated.
"We’ve got a stabiliser system in there called Desso, which are long synthetic fibres that go into the soil and kind of hold everything together and give the grip to all the players.
"Over time the build-up of sand and seed and everything covers those Desso fibres.
"So this renovation period is about scraping that back and exposing the Desso fibres, so come the 2018 season next year there’s a lot more grip out there for the rugby games."
A process undertaken every three years, this was the ground’s second renovation since opening in 2011.
It began on Monday, when a machine with blades on the bottom removed the top 20mm from the grass.
On Wednesday, 450kg of grass seed was spread across the ground from the back of a tractor, which took about three to four hours.
The process was completed yesterday, when a group of competition winners planted the final seeds.
Watson expected the grass to grow by Tuesday or Wednesday next week and was pleased with how it had gone so far. In the years between renovations a rake was put over the surface, which scraped out about 20% of what needed to be removed.
