Christchurch

Crusaders move pre-season game from Blenheim to Christchurch in red setting

Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge confirmed on Monday morning that the match, originally scheduled for Blenheim’s Lansdowne Park on February 11, will be played “behind closed doors’’ in Christchurch.

Mansbridge said the “substantial cost of delivering this fixture at a regional venue, paired with the current Omicron situation in New Zealand and the country’s move overnight to the red traffic light setting, means hosting the fixture at its current venue is now untenable”.

Christchurch won't host any 2023 football World Cup games

FIFA has cofirmed New Zealand's host cities are: Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin.

Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the 32-team tournament with 12 cities from both countries having bid to host games.

The 64 games will be split between the two countries with the tournament opener at Auckland's Eden Park while Sydney will host the final.

Nine cities will host games, Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Dunedin, Hamilton, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Wellington.

Wallabies using secret wall-knocks to communicate in Christchurch hotel

The Wallabies are bedded down in quarantine in a Christchurch hotel although it’s not as restrictive as in Australia, with the players allowed out at times through the day into a garden area as long as they are masked and practice social distancing.

They eat all their meals in their rooms and apart from their laptops and phones for entertainment, some unlucky players have been given watt bikes while others are making do with exercise bands and pull-up bars.

Lightning bolt strikes near Emirates plane in Christchurch

The scene involving an Airbus A380 was seen at 15:30 (02:30 GMT) by a pilot from Garden City Helicopters.

"The view out our window onto the tarmac today!" the company wrote on Facebook. "The Emirates plane [was] waiting for the storm to pass."

MetService New Zealand had issued thunderstorm warnings for the area.

Parts of the Canterbury region suffered severe storms, with hailstones the size of eggs in places, local media report.

Local MP Andrew Falloon filmed large hailstones falling outside his office in Timaru.

Magnitude 4.1 earthquake felt strongly in Christchurch

It came after a magnitude 3.5 earthquake on Saturday night.

According to the GeoNet website, 4746 people had reported they felt the jolt just before 9am. 

Both fire and police confirmed there had been no reports of damages reported in the minutes following the shake. 

     

Added security for NRL match

Top-flight sport returns to the city on Saturday when Manly stage a "home" match at Christchurch Stadium a fortnight after the mass shootings at two mosques which claimed 50 lives.

New Zealand has been placed on a high threat alert since and police have reminded event organisers nationwide to be aware that a proliferation of memorial events has the potential to stretch law enforcement resources.

However, a large police presence remains in Christchurch and will be out in force at Friday's National Remembrance Service at Hagley Park.

George Moala relishing chance to test himself against Ryan Crotty

Up against Ryan Crotty, a lock for the All Blacks midfield, on Friday as the Blues venture south, Moala has the chance to push his claims for inclusion in June.

Cast your mind back to last year's third test against Wales and Moala's first start for the All Blacks at centre. That night in Dunedin he scored a try and made several telling breaks in a largely impressive 50 minute stint but also showed his decision-making had some way to go.

Hookworms employed in gluten battle

The trial is due to start in a few months, and aims to help the tens of thousands of people in New Zealand who suffer from coeliac disease.

The lead clinician for the trial, Richard Gearry, said it followed a similar study in Australia which showed benefits.

Professor Gearry said the worm enters the body through the skin and makes its way through the blood stream before ending up in the gut.

Christchurch hit by 5.7 earthquake

Geonet reported the epicentre of the quake was centred 15km east of Christchurch at a depth of 15km.

A cliff collapsed at Whitewash Head near Sumner and engineers are assessing it to establish its stability.

There are reports of liquefaction and flooding in parts of New Brighton.