Kerre Woodham: Put on your party faces for Cup - or jolly well push off

Knocking has replaced rugby as the national sport. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Shock, horror. The Rugby World Cup blowout could be more than a billion dollars.

Quite why this is news is beyond me. The knockers are out in force.

Any country, any city that plans to put on a world-class event - be it cultural or sporting - faces knockers and naysayers from the get-go.

Take London - less than 48 hours after its $800,000 Olympic logo was revealed, opposition was described as rabid.

Fifa was roundly criticised for awarding the World Cup to South Africa. And poor old Delhi - no one seemed to think it could pull off the Commonwealth Games but it did.

Every chief executive of every organising committee in every country that's ever hosted an international extravaganza will have sighed in recognition and sympathy for Martin Snedden this week.

And as for the story itself: we all know there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And journos use statistics like drunken men use lamp posts - for support rather than illumination.

Those who are all for making the event a success will have their set of figures, the knockers will have theirs and none of them make a blind bit of difference - the thing is going ahead.

We've been told right from day one that we won't make money from the tournament - the International Rugby Board will, but New Zealand rugby won't.

Some of the costs will be offset by ticket sales but, ultimately, there will be a bill to taxpayers. We knew that so it's no use grizzling. The event is happening - and it will be here in a matter of months.

In many instances, the Rugby World Cup has been the catalyst for spending on infrastructure that will benefit all of us in the long run. We're putting our house into order, people.

We're dolling ourselves up, ready for our guests. Not just the guests we'll see this year, but the guests we'll see in the future.

The Hanmer Springs renovation, the Otago stadium - sure they're being readied in time for the Cup but they're not Rugby World Cup spends. Oh, it's all so petty and pointless and predictable.

Knocking's really our national sport, not rugby. Set aside the criticism, put on your party faces or push off.