200 000 RWC tickets unsold

Wellington - Rugby World Cup organisers say 200 000 tickets remain unsold 17 days before the tournament's opening match and they are 30.5 million New Zealand dollars ($25 million) short of their own revenue targets.

Organisers need to sell $219 million worth of tickets to meet targets, which will still leave a $32 million deficit on the cost of hosting the tournament to be met by New Zealand taxpayers and the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Rugby World Cup minister Murray McCully said on Tuesday that ticket sales are "pretty much on target" and he was confident of the revenue target being met.

Organisers are hoping a marketing push to attract more Australians would help ticket sales.