West Coast to play North Otago in Forsyth Barr Stadium opener
Dan Tasker - Oamaru Mail 9th May 2011

North Otago's Heartland Championship opener against the West Coast is set to double as the first match to be played at Dunedin's new Forsyth Barr Stadium.

North Otago Rugby chief executive Colin Jackson told The Oamaru Mail late last week that the Old Golds would begin their Meads Cup defence with the privilege of christening Dunedin's new premier sports stadium against West Coast on August 7.

Jackson said the opportunity to play the first official match at Forsyth Barr Stadium had come through connecting with the right people during the Highlanders' and Crusaders' pre-season stay in Oamaru in mid-February.

"Originally it started when the Highlanders and Crusaders were in town earlier in the year. We had discussions with (stadium managers) Dunedin Venues at the black-tie dinner that we hosted, and [Dunedin Venues chief executive] David Davies ended up offering us the chance to play the very first game on the new stadium.

"We're thrilled we can offer something like this for our players. They'll be able to say they played the very first game at Forsyth Barr Stadium to their grandkids, which is great. It'll be played on a Sunday, so we're hoping for a bumper crowd too," Jackson said.

North Otago Rugby Supporters Club president Steve Rawson said they were already making plans to drum up support for the match.

"Yeah, we'll be taking a bus down for it definitely. It'll be excellent actually, it's going to be the best thing out.

"Apparently they're holding an open day at the stadium so you get in free to the game, so hopefully there'll be a good crowd come down to support us. All the guys up here are still helping with club rugby at the moment, so we'll probably try and get a bit more interest next month," Rawson said.

Essentially, this match will give groundsmen and administrators a glimpse of how well the turf inside the new indoor complex will hold together for Dunedin's Rugby World Cup matches in September/October.

Aside from the Heartland trial run, Otago are scheduled to have their first crack on the new surface in a midweek ITM Championship game against the Manawatu Turbos on August 17. The first world cup game at the stadium is between Argentina and England on September 10.

Jackson and North Otago coach Barry Matthews were impressed with the ground.

"We toured through the stadium on Wednesday, and we were pretty impressed with what we saw. The crowd will be very close to what's going on on the field - the front row would be no more than three or four metres from the play.

"I think they [the groundsmen] are pretty confident in how the grass surface is going to hold together. They've been working really hard to make sure it will be okay for the world cup, but I guess we won't know until after we play the West Coast," Jackson said.

It will cap off a fairly prestigious start to the season for North Otago, who will have already faced Otago (June 25) and had their second Ranfurly Shield challenge in as many years against holders Canterbury (July 2/3) before their Heartland Championship opener in Dunedin.

It seems the ones missing out will be Otago, who will first have to sign off on an ageing Carisbrook against Southland (August 6) before getting a crack at their new indoor base across town.

The decision to allow the Old Golds to play the West Coast in Dunedin was backed by the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Otago Rugby Union.