31 Aug 2011

170 000 RWC tickets unsold

Wellington - The head of the International Rugby Board has urged New Zealanders to buy the remaining tickets to the Rugby World Cup, saying it will be a long time before the tournament returns to the country.

Only 10 days from the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga, almost 170,000 tickets remain unsold and organisers are NZ$26 million ($21 million) short of revenue targets.

Organisers say they are confident that all tickets will eventually be sold. But International Rugby Board chief executive Mike Miller told National Radio on Thursday New Zealanders did not seem to recognize the importance of the tournament.

"My main concern is that you're not going to get Rugby World Cup back here for a long time. There are lots of countries around the world that want to host the Rugby World Cup, so people should take advantage of it while it's here," said Miller.

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