One contingency plan is to move the games to other parts of the country but Australia has been put on alert if that proves logistically impossible. The host union, which is budgeting for a loss, has match tickets as its sole means of income. The AMI Stadium is the second biggest in the country and taking some matches across the Tasman Sea may prove to be the best solution because New Zealand would get all the proceeds except for the costs of staging the games.

Australia are due to play Italy and Russia in Christchurch but the Wallabies are unlikely be given home advantage if a new venue had to be found, meaning their games would be moved to another city in New Zealand, most likely Auckland.

Their coach, Robbie Deans, is from Christchurch and he said: "This is tragic. People have lost their lives. It is hard to know how it could affect the World Cup, but that does not warrant thinking about at the moment. It is not a priority."

Read more at The Guardian ....