Lions supporters to outnumber All Blacks fans in deciding Test in Auckland

By Gavin Mairs of the Telegraph

British and Irish Lions supporters are expected to outnumber their All Blacks counterparts in the third Test at Eden Park on Saturday after a late surge of ticket purchases on secondary market websites, ­the UK Telegraph has reported.

Steve Tew, the chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union, admitted that the governing body was powerless to prevent thousands of Lions supporters, including many expatriots, from snapping up tickets that have been put up for sale by members of the Auckland Rugby Union. Tew faced criticism from ­local supporters on Friday about the NZRU's ticketing policy as he admitted to Telegraph Sport that there had been more Lions supporters than those supporting the All Blacks in the second Test at the 38,000-capacity Westpac Stadium in Wellington last Saturday.

Tew conceded that there was ­already expected to be more than 20,000 Lions supporters at Eden Park - 12,000 more than the official allocation - at the 45,000-capacity stadium. It is expected that number will swell even further ahead of Saturday's kick-off, raising the prospect of the All Blacks being in danger of playing in an atmosphere that will could hand the Lions, not the hosts, an advantage.

"I read a couple of articles of ­people criticising us for selling too many [tickets] to Lions supporters last weekened," Tew told Telegraph Sport. "We know that of the 38,000 that were there last Saturday night, only 8,000 were sold officially to ­Lions supporters so we cannot stop canny Lions supporters getting tickets through our normal systems. That is what happens.

"We were probably outnumbered in Wellington and we certainly were in the last 10 minutes when a famous victory looked on the cards. Eden Park will hopefully be a little bit more balanced. But it is an event open to the public, isn't it? So people who want to go will go."

Tew revealed there had been specific interest in Lions supporters travelling at short notice from the Asia Pacific Basin, rekindling memories of when tens of thousands of England supporters travelled to Sydney in a similar fashion for the World Cup final in 2003.

"There will be 45,000 people in the ground and 20,000 of them will be in red, maybe more," Tew added. "Certainly there is a lot of demand I am told from people around the Asia Pacific Basin who have decided to come, they sense a history opportunity and want to be part of that."

One Auckland season ticket holder told Telegraph Sport on Wednesday that hundreds of tickets were being put up for sale because All Blacks' supporters had bought tickets for the first Test, believing the series would have been won ahead of tomorrow's game.

"Most All Blacks supporters bought tickets for the first Test thinking it would all be over by the final match. They are not prepared to pay NZ$400 [£225] for a match when they normally pay NZ$40."

The Lions supporters will also hope to give Warren Gatland's side an advantage by hijacking the reworked version of the Kiwi song Tutira Mai that has been played during the 10-match tour to encourage New Zealand supporters to become more engaged in supporting their team.

The playing of the song during breaks in play in the second Test effectively became a rallying call for Warren Gatland's side, with supporters chanting "Lions, Lions" over the song's chorus of "Tatou, Tatou e".

Tew said that tomorrow's match was expected to be the biggest event for New Zealand since they hosted the World Cup final in 2011, when the All Blacks narrowly defeated France at Eden Park.

"There is no question this weekend will be the next biggest thing outside of the World Cup," Tew added. "You have got the series tied at 1-1, both teams fancy their chances I think and at this stage you would be foolish to bet against either of them.