The North Field at the National Sports Centre has been passed fit to host next week’s World Rugby Classic, John Kane, the event’s president, confirmed yesterday.

Three of the eight floodlights at North Field were brought to the ground by Hurricane Gonzalo last month, and another felled when Tropical Storm Fay tore through the Island the previous weekend.

Kane, however, said that the Classic would remain at North Field after repair work had been carried out to the bleachers, while one of the remaining functioning floodlights has been moved to the opposite side of the pitch to provide adequate lighting.

“We have had some biblical weather put upon us in recent years to test our mettle but a hurricane and tropical storm weeks before the Classic has sorely tested us,” Kane said.

“We lost 50 per cent of our standing lights, one of which, perversely, decided to take out the bleachers as well just to add insult to injury.

“But then everyone started to rally around, with Bernie Asbell [the CEO of the National Sports Centre] and Trevor Madeiros [the National Sports Centre manager] leading the charge at the National Sports Centre.

“One of the 80ft-high lights has been moved to the other side of the field to give balance and some 40 per cent of the bleacher seating was rebuilt.”

Kane praised the hard work of the NSC staff to help ensure the event would go ahead as planned.

“Having viewed the initial damage, we then learnt that many of the tents normally used for the Classic had ‘gone with the wind’,” Kane said.

“Once again everyone rallied around and came up with solutions so that Bermuda’s biggest international sporting event would go ahead as scheduled.”

Among the leading lights at this year’s tournament, which is in its 27th year — will be Percy Montgomery, South Africa’s most capped player.

The 2007 World Cup winner joins former international team-mates Stefan Terblanche and De Wet Barry in a star-studded Classic Springboks squad.

Also sprinkling some stardust on this year’s event is Mike Tindall, a World Cup winner with England in 2003.

Felipe Contepomi, one of Argentina’s most decorated players, is also sure to add some bums-off-seats excitement during the event. New Zealand, who won the Classic crown in 2009 and 2010, will be the only Antipodeans in this year’s Classic, with Australia, the 2012 winners, missing out.

The opening game of the tournament pits Italy against South Africa on Sunday at 2.45pm, with the Classic Lions playing United States at 4pm.