Super Rugby side Melbourne Rebels and the Australian Rugby Union "have given AAMI Park until the weekend to prove their shoddy surface has been fixed or the Rebels will refuse to play their next home game at the venue," according to Iain Payten of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH.
The Rebels host the Stormers at AAMI Park on July 2 but such are the "concerns about a player suffering a 'career-ending injury' on the field," the Melbourne Olympic Park Trust (MOPT) has been "put on notice by Rebels and ARU officials."
The rugby bodies "will insist the MOPT pay for the Rebels’ home game to be staged an alternate venue in Melbourne if the field is not made stable and safe by Saturday." ARU CEO Bill Pulver "slammed the MOPT after he’d been repeatedly assured AAMI Park’s surface, which has been ripping up all year in Rebels games, would be in good shape." ARU GM Rob Clarke: “The immediate issue is the safety and welfare around playing on that surface in 10 days time, based on what was evident on Saturday night." AAMI Park had replaced 4% of its surface before the Test match and those areas "held up well, but the remaining turf was exposed" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/22).
