Double-booking ruins rugby match

Drag queens liven up the K Rd section of the fan trail. Photo / Jason Dorday

But others enjoy burlesque dancers and flash mobs on rugby's big night.

Newsreader Mike McRoberts was among rugby fans who claim their night at the Bledisloe Cup was ruined when seats were double-booked.

"We bought five tickets. We got there about 20 minutes before the game and they were double, just about triple, booked," he said.

He criticised Eden Park administrators' response. "It was useless. If you pay that much for a seat - $95 - you expect a seat. It's not good enough."

McRoberts said his whole row of about 25 seats was double-booked, and he did not know whether the problem was more widespread still.

Neil Sorensen, the NZ Rugby Union's general manager of professional rugby, blamed McRoberts for the problems.

He and his group had been allocated upgraded tickets, Sorensen claimed, but arrived with the wrong tickets and refused to move. McRoberts labelled the NZRU's response "bulls***" .

Elsewhere, the night went more smoothly. Auckland Transport tweeted that 45 per cent of the crowd travelled by public transport. "For a non World Cup fixture it is pretty close to a record for us. A good turnout for the Fan Trail, too."

The Rugby World Cup fan trail became an unofficial All Black fan trail as thousands of fans flocked through the city to Eden Park. With horns tooting and music blaring, flash mobs, burlesque dancers and singers entertained nearly 4000 sports fans trekking up Queen St and through some of the city's notorious parks and lanes.

Among the fans bedecked in black and sporting face paint were a group of visiting Vancouver ice hockey players. One of the group, Alex Bland, said: "We were always going to support New Zealand. This is such a fun atmosphere."

Many in the sell-out crowd wore red noses, helping to raise more than $1.3 million for TV3's CureKids Telethon.