Locals follow All Blacks to Cup

FLYING OUT: Rotorua residents and rugby fans Brett Wilson and Nadine Brown will soon pack their bags to cheer for the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER

Some Rotorua rugby fans are counting down the days until they fly out to cheer on the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup.

The tournament kicks off on September 11 and runs through to November 1 with matches in England and Wales.

Rotorua SPCA office manager Nadine Brown may have grown up in England but she won't be cheering for the home side.

The self-described "future Mrs McCaw" bought her tickets in the ballot last year and will be in the crowd for two All Blacks and two Samoa matches.

"Every year I go to Sydney to watch the All Blacks in the Bledisloe [Cup] and went to Auckland to watch them the other weekend. I'm pretty excited [about the Rugby World Cup] - I wasn't sure I would get any games so I'm quite happy to get the four I did."

Other than watching the on-field action, Ms Brown said she would spend time with her dad, who lived there, and catch up with friends.

"I'm looking forward to introducing my friends to the All Blacks, they've heard me go on about it for years. Coming from England, you support football and the crowds are quite segregated but when I came over here to watch a rugby game, fans were mixed together - it's a really good, friendly atmosphere."

Brett Wilson, managing director of Watchdog Security Group, received semifinals and final tickets from his family for his 50th birthday.

"It's huge, I went to the last World Cup final and went to the very first World Cup as a young fellow but this will be my first All Blacks game overseas," Mr Wilson said. "I'm really looking forward to it and I'm meeting my brother who lives over there and we'll go to the games together.

"It's the pinnacle sporting event for most Kiwis, to me it's bigger than the Olympics."

A group of students and teachers from Rotorua Intermediate School will be watching the All Blacks in Cardiff, Wales, on their return from a school trip to Italy.

All Blacks Tours packages have also been popular with 73 people ranging in age from 10 to 85 from the Bay of Plenty booked on tours. Nationally, 4000 All Blacks fans have signed up, from those travelling on the 47-day tour package to independent travellers wanting to watch some of the final games.

"Really what drives most people to do the tour is that everything is taken care of," general manager David Caldwell said.

"They don't have to worry about flights, accommodation, tickets, it's all done for them. Secondly, they are travelling with quite like-minded people so customers become friends over the tour and stay in touch for years and travel again together."