Traffic runs smoothly on second night of WC

The Rugby World Cup's media organisation says the public transport woes of Friday's opening night in Auckland weren't evident tonight.

Matches were played in North Harbour, Rotorua and Dunedin with all three areas avoiding the congestion problems which had marred opening night celebrations in Auckland.

New Zealand's largest public transport system was gridlocked in the CBD as 200,000 people partied while another 60,000 watched the opening game of the tournament at Eden Park.

Many people complaining of failures on all public transport services with buses, ferries and trains with delays of up to two hours at Britomart station.

North Harbour

Transport systems to and from the France-Japan match at North Harbour Stadium received positive feedback for a successful night.

Bus operations worked well for all parts of the region, with 7,000 fans travelling to the game by bus and just under 11,000 carried home.

An estimated full house of around 30,000 watched the match and many who used public transport were cleared from the venue within 65 minutes.

Seven people were evicted from the stadium, but there were no arrests.

Rotorua

There was just one arrest in Rotorua for the Fiji v Namibia match as fans gathered for the city's first Rugby World Cup game.

A man was picked up by officers outside the stadium for possession of cannabis.

Inspector Scott Fraser says the crowd was in good spirits and well-behaved for the match between Fiji and Namibia.

Dunedin

Dunedin Police are also anticipating a busy evening in the city as fans enjoy
post-match celebrations of the England v Argentina match.

The city had been busy in the build-up before the match athe Forsyth Barr Stadium and people were enjoying the positive atmosphere, said Inspector Campbell.

Liquor bans were in place across much of the north and central city.

Traffic flowed well and there appeared to be no significant issues with
traffic congestion around the stadium both before and after the match.