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The mental scars of the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to France in Cardiff run deep, but they apparently aren't putting supporters off despite the potential for a re-match in the same city eight years later.
The difference perhaps is that most All Black fans will travel with more realistic expectations than they did in 2007, a year which in New Zealand will be forever linked with France's shock 20-18 victory which led to tears in one Millennium Stadium changing room, plus a few more on these shores.
Many New Zealanders are planning on travelling to the United Kingdom for the global tournament, which starts on September 18, with All Blacks Tours, the company aligned with New Zealand Rugby, having sold about 18,500 match tickets, with about 1,000 remaining.
Some diehard supporters have snapped up a 47-night package which covers the entire tournament of four pool matches and three knockout matches. In addition, two Air New Zealand charter flights carrying about 340 people in each, plus tour leaders Sir Graham Henry and Stephen Donald, will leave after the pool phase.
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Advertise with NZME.All Blacks Tours general manager David Caldwell said the Cardiff result in 2007 was often mentioned by supporters looking into packages.
"We've certainly heard that comment, there's no question about it, because when you look at the draw there's the potential there that we bump into France in Cardiff in a quarter-final," Caldwell said. "On the other side of it, I guess, is we could bump into Ireland as well."
Should the All Blacks top Pool C they will play the second team in Pool D, likely to be Ireland or France or possibly Italy.
"[The comments] are coming from our sales guys - they've had people on the phone inquiring about semifinals and quarter-finals packages. They're probably more tongue in cheek than anything... 'can you guarantee we'll see the game after if we go to the quarter-final or semifinal because I was there in 2007 and still have a nasty taste in my mouth'."
Some supporters left New Zealand for the semifinal in Paris before knowing the result in Cardiff. Instead of the All Blacks, it was France who played England in the first semifinal, with South Africa playing Argentina in the other. The Springboks were crowned world champions after beating England in the Twickenham final.
Mike Lane, who helped organise a Beige Brigade supporter' tour from London to Cardiff eight years ago - a group of about 600 who travelled in 11 coaches - said the disappointment of the fans on his tour was nothing to that of a mainly older demographic who had travelled all the way from New Zealand.
He said: "We walked out of the stadium disappointed but knowing we'd be back in our beds that night, and before us was a group of a couple of hundred All Blacks' fans on the start of what they hoped would be the trip of a lifetime. Many of them had their heads in their hands."
There were many stories at the time of Kiwis selling their Paris semifinal tickets to French and English supporters for big money. Caldwell said according to Rugby World Cup ticketing rules, that would make the tickets invalid.
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Advertise with NZME."You're still at a Rugby World Cup, you're still going to see a semifinal and final of a significant global event," he said.
Aucklanders would be in the majority on the tours, with Taranaki and Christchurch also well represented.
