Snedden not worried about slow province sales

The passive uptake for World Cup tickets in the provinces doesn't have Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden biting his fingernails just yet.

More than 600,000 tickets were applied for in the first phase of the sale process which ended on May 21, including a giant oversubscription for ticket packs to attend the five pool games at Eden Park.

There were more than 165,000 applications from both New Zealand and overseas for team and venue pool match ticket packs and quarterfinal packs, something Snedden described as a "terrific response". It gave early reason for confidence that large crowds will watch the tournament.

While Eden Park and the All Blacks have proven to be strong drawcards there was a comparatively muted response for matches at smaller venues and for less-established rugby nations.

Snedden said he was forewarned by provincial rugby unions to expect a measured approach from supporters.

"They said it would be slower than what you might hope for from day one so we built that into our thinking," he said today.

"We don't have concerns with any of those smaller venues. They're the sort places where it just gathers momentum as the event gets closer.

"We have a solid base of what will become sales. It's disproportionate with what is happening at Eden Park but it is entirely consistent with what usually happens at those venues. It's more of a trend of what happens in New Zealand."

June will be spent processing the applications, with Snedden estimating 15 to 20 percent of those would be contacted with disappointing news in early July. Anybody seeking an overscribed pack would go through a "randomisation" process.

It was expected about 500,000 of the ticket applications would be successful, accounting for nearly a third of the overall seats at the tournament.

All was not lost for applicants who missed out, Snedden stressed.

He expected they would be given a second chance in July to apply for other packs. For example, those who miss out on Eden Park packs may be offered the chance to apply for pool matches at nearby North Harbour Stadium.

There has been an oversubscription for certain quarterfinal seat categories and Snedden said there may be the opportunity for those who miss out to apply for more expensive seating.

"We can't promise that the second chance offers will be what people want but we'll do our best with the inventory that we've got available at that stage."

Snedden said more tickets to Eden Park or to watch the All Blacks in pool play would become available in phase two of the sales process in September when individual pool and quarterfinal tickets can be purchased.

They would come from excess tickets held by Rugby World Cup Limited, which oversees commercial and travel and hospitality programmes.

"We're expecting we'll have individual tickets on sale for every single match but we're not certain of the numbers. It will vary from match to match," Snedden said.

There was a pleasant surprise at the overseas interest in tickets, which Snedden expected to kick-in during phase two.

"The uptake we've had from places like England and Ireland in particular, along with France and South Africa, has been great from our point of view.

"It means there is a growing awareness of the tournament in the international rugby markets.

"We didn't really know quite what to expect. New Zealand hasn't done anything like this before so we weren't certain where we'd be at this stage but I'm really happy with where we are, albeit that it's still an application phase."

- NZPA