Editorial: Our last chance to savour Cup fever

World Cups don't come along very often. You may have heard that a few times this year.

They might happen every four years, but around these parts this is the first one since the first one - and it could well be another 24 years at least before it's back.

As we've noted before, Rotorua event-goers have often been accused of waiting until the last minute to buy their tickets, infuriating promoters and performers.

So we're a bit laid-back - isn't that the Kiwi way?

But this time it might bite us in the bum.

The crowd at Saturday's Fiji-Namibia match at Rotorua International Stadium seemed a really good size, and it was only just over 10,000.

The party got even bigger for Wednesday's Samoa-Namibia match - attendance nearly 13,000 - as fans really got into the spirit of the event.

Rotorua has one match left in this Rugby World Cup: Ireland v Russia on Sunday, September 25. That's just over a week away.

Already 22,000 of the 26,000 available tickets have been sold.

Only a week ago we reported more than 17,000 tickets as having been sold, so in the past few days more than 4000 tickets have been snapped up.

This game will be huge. The crowd will be bigger than the first two combined. The atmosphere will be electric.

Our stadium is made for big-time rugby - it's a great venue and that's one of the reasons we get good matches ahead of some other grounds.

But those opportunities have dried up a bit over the years.

Don't miss out on this one because you leave it too late.

Despite what you might see in the national media, this Rugby World Cup is proving to be a fun, exciting event for many.

Here's your chance to enjoy a slice of the action on home turf.