Rugby World Cup organisers say it is too early and inappropriate to speculate on whether the Christchurch earthquake will mean the city will lose its matches later this year.
[image:1305:half:right]The shallow 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 12.51pm on Tuesday, 10km south-east of the central city, causing many deaths and widespread devastation.
Christchurch is scheduled to host seven games including England and Australia's openers and two of the quarter-finals.
Rugby World Cup 2011 spokesperson Mike Jaspers says any assessment must wait until after rescue and recovery efforts have been completed.
[Radio New Zealand]'s sports department says, given accommodation for the tournament was already tight before the quake it's likely there will be implications.
Engineers were inspecting the city's AMI stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The company that manages the stadium says the results will be released on Thursday.
Prime Minister John Key says he hopes the matches can go ahead in Christchurch as they'd be a boost for the city as it rebuilds.
Crusaders match may be postponed
A decision on whether the Crusaders Super rugby match against the Hurricanes goes ahead won't be made until Thursday.
The Canterbury Rugby Union says players will meet on Wednesday night to discuss whether to travel to Wellington for the game.
