El Nino wreaks havoc at Ellis Park

The climate cycle causes a warming in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific and can lead to unusually heavy rains in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere.

“The El Nino effect has restricted grass growth and poor root establishment at the park,” explains Mike Erasmus, Ellis Park stadium manager.

In the game against the Crusaders, two percent of the playing surface was breaking up due to high temperatures in the week leading up to the game.

As a result, corrective steps were taken this week leading up to the Lions' match against the Stormers on Saturday. 

Johan van Vuuren,  pitch expert at Ellis Park, headed up the corrective action project.

“This had to be done to ensure the safety of the players and to restrict injuries,” Erasmus concluded. 

"We had to take these precautionary measures and while it will take three weeks to recover, the pitch will be ready for all the forthcoming fixtures including the Test in June."