A sinkhole which opened up at the feet of a junior rugby player on the weekend lost Buninyong Football Club a fundraising opportunity but is unlikely to affect their practise or play, president Andrew Donald said.
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Rugby games were relocated on Saturday after a metres-deep sinkhole appeared at the centre of the Buningyong Community Reserve half an hour before kick off.
Buninyong Football Club, which was meant to cater for the rugby games on the day, would be otherwise unaffected by the sinkhole on their home turf, Mr Donald said.
The oval, which was built over a creek in the late 1980s, is due to have new drainage put in before next football season.
“The sink hole is something you can't predict, it was just one of those things,” Mr Donald said.
“We're just pleased that we got away without any injury to anyone but the oval is going to be redone anyway so it's all good.”
Rugby players were forced to relocate to St Patricks College for the Balmoral Cup and to Melton, where Victorian Country Barbarians played Melbourne Rugby Club.
“There were some kids kicking footies on the football field and all of a sudden one of the kids noticed that the ground opened up under his feet essentially and he stepped aside and there it is,” Ballarat Rugby director Luke Miller said on Saturday.
“It’s just extremely lucky and fortunate that no one was hurt and it’s never occurred during a footy match for the Buninyong Footy Club.”
Mr Miller took to Facebook on Sunday, describing the sinkhole and shuffling of matches as “something from a movie”.
“I suspect over the coming days, weeks and even months there will be much discussion and media attention about the state of the Buninyong Football ground,” he wrote.
“I also feel for the Buninyong Football Club who were most apologetic for circumstances beyond their control.”