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John Key must have known that Christchurch could not have hosted rugby games

On Tuesday, John Key said Christchurch's AMI stadium could be capable of hosting Rugby World Cup matches. In response to Phil Goff doubting the games could be held at AMI stadium, Key said it was a question of whether the stadium could be fixed, whether the turf could be repaired.

Key's implication is that Christchurch may be able to host the games at AMI Stadium.

Yet the day before, V-Base board of directors had a meeting and decided that there was no time to repair the stadium, and wrote to Martin Sneddon telling him so. " Due to the lack of time contingency, and the significant risks... the required level of assurance cannot be given to RNZ 2011 Ltd that Stadium Christchurch can meet its RWC 2011 contractual obligations," they said.

The same day Rugbyworldcup.com put this on its website, saying the turf could not be fixed in time for the game and the accommodation gap could not be closed.

It seems unbelievable that John Key would not have know this information when he spoke to the media the day after the V-Base meeting when he said the stadium could be capable of holding the matches. Martin Sneddon knew otherwise and had already made arrangements for replacement venues.