Rugby World Cup: A Blarney Army blast

Proud Ireland fans sin the stands. Photo / Christine Cornege

Irish Rugby World Cup fans have been the loudest so far. Officials from Auckland Council say crowd noise monitored at Eden Park show the "Blarney Army" were the rowdiest fans.

Auckland Council manager of licensing and compliance Carole Todd said noise measurements taken at Cricket Ave revealed that the crowd noise level for the Ireland v Australia game was "markedly louder than for any other game at Eden Park, including the All Blacks games played there".

An environmental sound level meter has been measuring noise levels at the park and so far the stadium's booming new PA system has complied.

Eden Park installed sophisticated sound-limiting devices for the PA system to make sure levels met conditions.

And Trade Me has reported a big dent in user numbers during Rugby World Cup matches involving the All Blacks.

During the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, the site had a little over two million hits per hour when it usually gets four million.