Rugby World Cup ticket sales soar

More than 600,000 Rugby World Cup tickets have been applied for in the first phase of sales. Photo / Richard Robinson

Rugby World Cup organisers are stunned by the interest in attending pool matches at Eden Park after announcing that more than 600,000 tickets have been applied for in the first phase of sales.

There were more than 165,000 applications from both New Zealand and overseas for ticket packs, something Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden described as a "terrific response" in tight financial times.

After applications closed on May 21, 125,000 applications were tallied for team and venue packs, while a further 40,000 were received for quarterfinal weekend packs in Wellington and Christchurch and the third-fourth playoff in Auckland.

"It's a terrific response," Snedden told NZPA, believing the result bode well for future ticketing phases and for the success of the tournament itself.

"We didn't really know quite what to expect. New Zealand hasn't done anything like this before so we weren't certain where we'd be at this stage but I'm really happy with where we are, albeit that it's still an application phase."

Overseas interest was strong, with the strongest interest in ticket packs involving New Zealand, England, Ireland, Australia and Scotland.

Certain packs received heavy over-subscription, most notably for the five pool matches at Eden Park, which will have a 60,000 capacity for the tournament.

Exact figures aren't available but a "randomisation" process will be used to determine who is successful in securing that pack, along with others which were over-subscribed.

Adding to the complexity of the processing task is that popular team pack applications, such as to see all the All Blacks' pool matches, also overlap with Eden Park, where the tournament hosts will play twice.

"The issue we've got, and it's a nice issue to have is that the number of applications we received which involved Eden Park matches is massively more than the seats we had available," Snedden said.

"It's good but it's going to cause some disappointment in some places. We just have to try and manage that as best we can.

"The good thing is that the ground is going to be full for the matches. There's nothing like being in the middle of a full stadium to create the sort of experience that people want."

Snedden regretted that demand couldn't be met for everyone and expected the figure of 600,000 tickets applied for to drop by 15 to 20 per cent once over-subscription is catered for. He anticipated there would be an opportunity for unsuccessful applicants to apply for "second chance pack offers".

Applicants are expected to find out by writing whether they are successful by early July.

Snedden said applications to smaller venues and less popular teams had been "solid" in comparison to the interest at Eden Park but that came as no surprise.

"It's not spectacular but it's a good platform for us in that we've still got 15 months to go before the tournament starts," he said.

"We didn't expect it to be overwhelming.

"The take-up of the quarterfinal packages has been really good. A little bit stronger in Christchurch than we expected, perhaps because that's where the All Blacks are likely to be."

The second phase of the ticketing process involves the sale of individual match tickets excluding semifinals and the final, likely to begin in September.

The third phase - a ballot for tickets to the semifinals and the final - will take place early next year.

There are approximately 1.65 million tickets to be sold for the tournament.

- NZPA