Long-term thinking was behind the decision to call off Dunedin premier club rugby on Thursday.
The games had been scheduled to kick off at 4pm on Thursday, with no games on Saturday due to Easter weekend.
However, with heavy rain falling for much of Wednesday the grounds were closed that day.
It appeared unlikely the games would be played, but the Otago Rugby Union went back with a final request to move them to the sand-based grounds.
That was turned down and games were officially cancelled at 9am on Thursday.
The Dunedin City Council had made the decision to ensure the grounds stayed in good condition for the rest of the season.
"We’ve spoken to the contractors at both north and south and they have advised us they’re really saturated," DCC acting parks operations manager Gareth Jones said on Thursday.
He added that at that point more rain was scheduled for the evening.
"So for us it’s really just a precaution to make sure the fields are in the best condition possible later in the season.
"This has been communicated to the ORFU from the beginning of the season. We’ll look to make sure they last longer throughout the season."
Jones said it was a big call to cancel premier rugby, as it had a large following in Dunedin.
"It’s council policy. We do have a field closure policy. We obviously acknowledge that premier rugby has a huge interest throughout the city and we try to make every effort to make sure the games do get played.
"I do understand the knock-on effect to the Otago Rugby Union with scheduling, so that’s something we really consider before we go to this level and cancel premier rugby.
"But, like I say, we consulted our contractors pretty heavily and they came back with the same outcome. The grounds will pretty much be ruined if they are played on."
Community rugby manager Richard Perkins said a plan was still to be made for whether the games would be rescheduled.
The union would talk to the metropolitan rugby council and make a plan from there.However, the games could not be played over Easter weekend, as people may have made plans for the holiday.
Cancelling premier games was a rare move, although it had happened in 2007, when the games were rescheduled causing the season to be extended by one week.