Sold-out Rugby World Cup quarter-finals would meet ticket target

The quarter-final games have a total capacity of about 200,000, 82 per cent of which has been sold. Photo / Getty Images

Ten thousand tickets are left to the All Blacks' quarter-final Rugby World Cup match this weekend, and another 16,000 to England v France at Eden Park.

Selling out the two matches will push the tournament past its sales target of $268.5 million.

"Now that the quarter-finalists have been confirmed, we expect strong interest ahead of the weekend's four showdown matches," said Shane Harmon, the general manager of marketing and communications for the tournament.

Ireland plays Wales in the first quarter-final in Wellington, followed by France against England at Eden Park. On Sunday, South Africa plays Australia in Wellington, and the All Blacks take on Argentina in the last quarter-final at Eden Park.

"We are at the crunch point of the tournament. It is do or die so these will be terrific matches and we urge fans to move fast as we fully expect to have near capacity or capacity crowds for all four quarter-finals."

The games have a total capacity of about 200,000, 82 per cent of which has been sold, with fewer than 5000 tickets left to each of the Wellington games.

The Auckland matches were originally scheduled in Christchurch's AMI Stadium, which had a capacity less than 40,000. The tournament gained about 30,000 quarter-finals seats when the earthquake forced a relocation, an additional value of about $10 million.

The cheapest tickets left to the All Blacks match is $300 - meaning the remainder is worth at least $3 million. The tickets left to England v France are worth well over $3 million.

Just $6.5 million in sales are needed to meet the tournament revenue target, after more than a million people attended the first 40 matches of the tournament.

International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset said strong attendances across the country were testament to the welcoming nature of New Zealanders, who had thrown their support behind every team.

"The way that New Zealanders the length and breadth of the country have embraced the tournament has been absolutely incredible," Mr Lapasset said.

"The atmosphere around the venues and host cities with New Zealanders and travelling international fans giving such vocal, passionate and colourful support to all of the teams will be an enduring memory for everyone who has experienced Rugby World Cup 2011.

"The scene is set for four compelling quarter-finals."

Tournament boss Martin Snedden said he had no doubt the tournament would reach its goals.

"This is an excellent place to be with eight major matches of the tournament yet to be completed," he said.