Stranded rugby fan: 'I have never seen anything so disorganised'

Waiheke man Brian Brooke, who had a ticket to the opening game of the Rugby World Cup, had to use a private boat to get to town after ferries stopped carrying passengers into central Auckland yesterday afternoon. File photo / Dean Purcell

For a Waiheke man who was relying on public transport to get him to the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, it couldn't have gone more wrong last night.

Brian Brooke, of Waiheke, bought two tickets to last night's opening match with the main intention of watching the opening ceremony.

However, when Mr Brooke and his companion begun their journey yesterday afternoon at Waiheke Island's ferry terminal they were told the ferry was not carrying anyone to Auckland.

So, he decided to get his son to take the pair across the harbour on his boat, before trying to catch a train to Eden Park.

"The whole time we were there there was loud speaker announcements being made but you couldn't hear a word anyone was saying, it was just loud speaker announcements constantly and everyone looking at each other."

After waiting thirty minutes for a train and then thirty minutes on a train which was not moving they decided to make the hour-long walk to Eden Park.

"There's about 20, 30 of us all walking, all still fuming, and the guy fawkes are going off in the distance."

Five minutes before the game started, the pair stumbled into the stadium, missing the entire opening ceremony.

"It brasses me off, the tickets are about $300 each.

"There were some people that were really pissed off, some people were just completely agro, the average person was just frustrated, like we were."

He had never seen anything like it, he said.

"I go to rugby all over the place, have done for a long time, and I have never seen anything so disorganised, it was just ridiculous."