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Ticket sales to hit target

Auckland - Organisers of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand are confident ticket sales for the tournament will surpass their target of 1.35 million after announcing that more than three quarters of a million fans had attended the first 28 matches of the competition.

Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 announced on Monday that, following the Argentina-Scotland game on Sunday, more than 750 000 supporters had filed through the turnstiles with 20 matches still remaining.

Sales up to and including the Argentina-Scotland game on Sunday totalled 1.32 million against a target of 1.35 million, while revenue totalled R1.6bn, leaving R76m of sales to be achieved to reach the overall target of R1.67bn.

“The surge in sales since the tournament began means we are bang on track to hit our sales and revenue targets,” said Shane Harmon, RNZ’s general manager marketing and communications.

“This is the last week of the pool phase of the tournament before the knock-out matches in Auckland and Wellington. This week already we have sell out matches at North Harbour for Samoa’s critical final pool match against South Africa, Ireland’s decisive clash with Italy at Otago Stadium and Japan against Canada at McLean Park in Napier.”

Martin Snedden, CEO of the RNZ 2011, described the news as a “fantastic result” and added to Radio Sport that any fears over sales for the games in Rotorua had been allayed. Rotorua hosted its third and final game of the tournament at the weekend when Ireland took on Russia.

“To be honest, I did have a wee bit of a concern about Rotorua, even on the day before the tournament,” he said. “It just wasn't quite heating up as I hoped it would. But they got in behind it. They saw what happened in their first game and I think the people who were there enjoyed it so much, word got around.”

Three of the remaining pool matches have now sold out, tickets to games in Nelson, Palmerston North, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton are selling fast, but some tickets are also available for the semi-final and quarter-final matches, with a flurry of activity expected once the fixtures for the last eight are confirmed. “We urge fans who have yet to experience the excitement and fun of a Rugby World Cup match to move fast or they will be disappointed,” said Harmon.

* Click HERE for the latest RWC odds on BET.CO.ZA

 
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