Rugby: Ground and weather will be the real test

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Put on your woollies and ice-skates, we're off to Etihad Stadium ... for the footy.

The weather is going to be messy and the surface unfit for running rugby if forecasts for Saturday's opening Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne hit the mark.

The test is sandwiched between Friday and Sunday rounds of the AFL with officials and observers of that code adamant the surface at the ground is sub-standard.

Etihad chief executive Ian Collins has ordered a "hollow-coring" and top-dressing as part of emergency measures this week to help the ground through its triple-header.

Outspoken AFL players like Jason Akermanis have warned it is only a matter of time before injured players file lawsuits while Collingwood club boss Eddie McGuire has suggested the park be scrapped and relocated.

Etihad is just a decade old but there have been troubles since the roofed arena was built. The main problem has been growing grass or finding the right surface to cope with regular use.

Australian rugby officials have declared it acceptable for Saturday's test though players will wear different sprigs to cope with the shifting surface.

The All Blacks will visit the ground and their kickers will be allowed some practice but they and the Wallabies will not be allowed a team run on the arena before the test.

The All Blacks played three matches at Etihad in the 2003 World Cup. The surface was soft then and cut up but it has apparently deteriorated with Wallaby five-eighths Berrick Barnes saying it was "the slipperiest ground I've ever played on".

Running rugby? Teams wanting to shift the ball? That concept will be the test within the test on Saturday as the like-minded All Blacks and Wallabies gear up for Tri-Nations One.