Rugby fans waiting to catch the action at the stadium 35 minutes after kick-off. Photo / Dean Purcell
Frustrated rugby fans were turned away from the opening match of this year's Super 14 competition last night after an apparent admission mix-up at North Harbour Stadium in Albany that saw even All Black selectors delayed.
A 23,000-strong crowd - which North Harbour chief executive Brendon O'Connor said was the
largest the stadium had seen for a Super 14 match since 1997 - swarmed to the ground to watch the Auckland Blues take on Wellington-based Hurricanes.
The match, the first competition game of the year, kicked off at 7.35pm, but many spectators were still trying to get into the ground well into the first half. Among those caught up in the confusion were All Black coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith.
Neither got to his seat in time to see the opening try by Blues first five-eighths Stephen Brett inside the first seven minutes.
One angry spectator, Darren Hight, vented his fury at the organisation around the entrances to the stadium.
"It was the most shambolic thing I've ever seen," he said. "My father and I have been looking forward to this all day. In the end, I got in and he didn't."
Hundreds of fans queuing at the main entrances were told they would not get in and to go around the stadium to the far side where tickets were still available. Eventually, those under the impression that they would get in were told they, too, had missed out.
Parents with children who had received free tickets through schools or clubs were also furious at being turned away. Some were apparently unaware these were only for the embankment and instead had queued for the stands.
But Mr O'Connor last night told the Weekend Herald that he was not aware of any spectators being turned away.
However, he said there had been some "issues" around people queuing to collect "pick-up" tickets.
Fans who made it inside for the game were also in for a big disappointment too. The Blues threw away a 20-12 halftime lead and lost the game 34-20.
