Luck of the draw bypasses rugby-mad family

From left, Kieran, Roger, Sue and Jarryd Paish were among the 15 per cent to miss out. Photo / Richard Robinson

Roger Paish is one of the unlucky ones.

Mr Paish and his wife submitted separate applications hoping to get tickets for the Pukekohe family of five.

"We are local and keen to go. If we'd ended up with half of them then we would have thought 'fair enough lots of people want to go', but we've ended up with none."

Mr Paish was also unhappy with the four-ticket limit per application, which forced his family to enter twice. The family are among an unlucky 15 per cent whose applications were unsuccessful.

Shane Harmon, spokesman for the Rugby World Cup 2011, said three-quarters of applicants received everything they asked for. A further 10 per cent were partially successful, meaning they may have received their venue pack but not the quarter-final.

"Then there's 15 per cent of people who are unsuccessful at this stage."

Mr Harmon said the four-ticket limit was to curb scalping and to allow more people the opportunity to attend a game.

"For us it was about balance and actually trying to make sure as many families as possible could attend. Had we increased ticket limits it would have meant far [fewer] applicants would have been successful."

Mr Harmon said organisers might change ticket limits for some venues but that was unlikely for Eden Park. However, second-chance offers would be made available to those who did not get what they wanted.