Rugby: World Cup matches moved from quake-hit Christchurch

The seven Rugby World Cup matches due to be played in earthquake-hit Christchurch will be moved to other venues in New Zealand, tournament organisers have announced.

New Zealand's World Cup minister Murray McCully had previously stated the pitch and stadium were both damaged by the earthquake, which hit on February 22 and measured 6.3 on the Richter Scale.

The decision to switch the games - which include England's September pool meetings with Argentina and Georgia and Scotland's clash with Argentina - was reached today after the International Rugby Board and the New Zealand government received the final engineering report from AMI Stadium managers VBase.

The quarter-finals scheduled to be played at Stadium Christchurch have been reallocated to Eden Park, with no decision yet made as to which RWC venues will host the pool matches.

VBase indicated that the repair timeframes were so tight there would be no leeway for work delays, meaning they could give no assurances that the venue would be ready in time.