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"The Battle of Aotea Square" could be New Zealand's biggest security risk at the Rugby World Cup.
It would be the Antipodean version of this year's "Battle of Piccadilly" in Manchester, when fans watching the Rangers-Zenit UEFA Cup final on a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens erupted into violence when the screen broke down.
The technicians who tried to fix the fault were attacked with bottles and had to withdraw. Rangers fans went berserk, attacking each other and the riot police - including one incident where 200 fans isolated and attacked an officer.
With big screens to be used to accommodate the thousands of fans who can't get into games here, the police's Rugby World Cup commander, Grant O'Fee, says lessons can be learned from the Battle of Piccadilly so officers don't have a "what are we going to do now, Jimmy" moment.
O'Fee says such a blowout is unlikely because, while crowd control will be core police business, the reality is "the crowd will be a good crowd - this isn't Rangers versus Celtic".
He will use officers based in the cities where games are held, rather than a Rugby World Cup Unit, saying "this isn't the 1981 Springbok Tour" - a reference to the infamous Red Squad that trooped from game to game then.
O'Fee was hand-picked for the job by Commissioner Howard Broad and his deputy Rob Pope. The 40-year police veteran has most recently been the District Commander for the Tasman District, based in Nelson.
O'Fee's police experience indicates the national security issues inherent in hosting such a major event: he has been a member of the elite Special Tactics Group, a senior criminal investigator, sat on various Government national security groups, worked on the police operation for Apec in 1999 and led the first contingent of police to East Timor in 2006.
Counter-terrrorism will of course be core function for police during the World Cup, although O'Fee will not detail the police's plans for obvious reasons.
He says some of the qualifying countries could bring with them high threat levels, citing Georgia, which has recently been engaged in an armed conflict with Russia and separatist groups.
O'Fee says other security issues could be the arrival of international VIPs, such as princes William and Harry, or even the Queen, should England make the final.
Customs will also play a vital security role, with more than 70,000 visitors due through the arrival gates - similar levels to the summer rush, but starting early.
Customs has already used the Fifa Under-17 World Cup as an example of how to get a collection of teams in and out of Customs as smoothly as possible.
Customs' Enforcement Co-ordination Unit manager, Mark Pigou, says it will still remain vigilant - including for rip-off artists.
He is expecting counterfeit Rugby World Cup merchandise to be shipped in by the boxload, and says Customs has the power to "detain" such shipments on behalf of the licence-holder. Customs can then destroy these goods with the licence-holder's permission - as happened recently with 748 counterfeit Ab King Pro machines.
But don't fear. If you picked up a cheap Adidas All Blacks jumper in a dodgy market somewhere in Asia, Pigou says it's only the commercial counterfeiters Customs are after.
