French might taste House of Pain
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:42
Otago Rugby Union (ORFU) are confident the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) will again allocate Test action to the ageing Carisbrook stadium in 2009, after a sell-out crowd packed the ground for July's Tri-Nations Test.
The Test between South Africa and the All Blacks on July 12 was the first time Test rugby had been scheduled at the venue since the 2005 Tri-Nations, with New Zealand's bigger and better-equipped grounds being afforded matches instead.
ORFU CEO Richard Reid said a bid had been lodged in the past month in terms of next year's international schedule, but remained upbeat Dunedin would again feature.
"The NZRU have asked if you are in the market for a Test," Reid told Yahoo!Xtra.
"And we inputted a paper a couple of weeks ago, or probably a month ago, which I suspect everyone did.
"And I am fairly sure at the next board meeting they will digest all the information from people who have submitted bids and make a decision.
"So we are just waiting really," he added.
Dunedin's hopes would have been increased by the fact that both Eden Park and AMI Stadium are undergoing pre-World Cup renovations, though Reid felt Otago was unlikely to snare itself a Tri-Nations Test for a second successive season.
"We understand that with the stadium, the South African Test was a once-off," Reid said.
"So we are pitching for a French Test and are hopeful, but there will be other people who will be hopeful (too)."
July's Test was Reid's first, since taking charge of Otago and Highlanders rugby.
He said the Test was a culmination of work which had begun in December 2007, and was the only sell-out Test played in New Zealand in 2008 outside of Auckland - thanks to fervent local support.
"The best thing was that 90 percent of the crowd was from the Highlanders area, so that worked well," he said.
"It sort of was just more a celebration of Dunedin and then there happened to be a rugby Test, as much as the other way around. The whole city got in behind it, the whole province got in behind it," Reid added.
