SuperShorts: The highs and lows of another week on Planet Sport

Miles of smiles
Prime Minister John Key, International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Bernard Lapasset, chief executive Mike Miller and NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs were all smiles this week - two years exactly to the start of the 2011 World Cup.

Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden was confident the groundwork was in place for an outstanding tournament on the field, with construction targets having been met at all the venues undergoing development.

That included Auckland's Eden Park, site of the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga, and the semifinals and final. It is being extended to seat 60,000 people and is six weeks ahead of schedule.

The only venue question mark surrounds whether Dunedin's new, covered stadium will be built in time to host pool matches.

If not, Carisbrook will be used but Snedden said organisers would give the Dunedin community as much time as possible to get the new stadium ready. Its progress would be rigorously inspected in July.

Key said the tournament was an opportunity to expose New Zealand in the best light to millions of viewers worldwide.

Grin and bare it
You'd better start saving though if you want to be there at the business end of the World Cup. Tickets to most pool games will be "modestly" priced but seats at the final will cost an average of $800. The average cost of semifinal and quarter-final tickets will be about $600 and $450 respectively.

And from all accounts the tournament is heading for a $30 million loss which will be underwritten by the New Zealand Rugby Union and Government.

Key to the Tron
The South African rugby team's snub of Hamilton this week drew a haughty reaction from Prime Minister John Key.

South African coach Peter de Villiers said his players risked going stale if they arrived earlier as "there is nothing in Hamilton".

"I think it's misguided actually," Key said, "and I think ... they'll come to realise that they like the place even less when they've been thumped by the All Blacks."

What a cheek
Injured Bulldogs halfback Brett Kimmorley says his recovery from a broken cheekbone remains on track and he hopes he'll be back in week three of the NRL finals.

Kimmorley returned to training on Wednesday to do some light exercise, as his teammates prepared to face Newcastle in tomorrow night's qualifying final at ANZ Stadium.

Too many ribs
Controversial fan favourite John Daly has been forced to cancel his golf trip to Australia after a rib injury sidelined him for the rest of 2009.

Daly was to have been a star attraction at the Australian Open in Sydney from December 3-6 and Australian PGA Championship at Coolum on Queensland's Sunshine Coast (December 10-13).

Get the message
Auckland bicycle courier Ezra Phillips, 27, will be New Zealand's representative at the Cycle Messenger World Champs in Tokyo this month. Held on closed roads, riders must deliver packages to various offices along the circuit as fast as possible. Apparently, there's no red light running.

Good week for... Marin Cilic
Marin who? you may well ask. He's the guy who sent the British media packing from the US Tennis Open yet again by beating their great hope No2 seed Andy Murray in straight sets. They call the Croatian the "Baby Goran" after his hero Goran Ivanisevic.

Bad week for... Black Caps
After a great start with quick wickets to new boys Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey it all turned to custard. The Black Caps, on the back of a loss two days before to Sri Lanka A, were further humiliated by their top team by 97 runs in their first ODI.

The number... $310m
The cost to run the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. Organisers said it was difficult to estimate whether sales of a maximum 1.7 million tickets to 48 games could reach the $280 million target.