Nines: Fans flock to Eden Park

Fans have flocked to Eden Park for the Auckland Nines. Photo / Getty

The annual NRL Nines have kicked off at Eden Park, with a star-studded lineup of rugby league's finest set to entertain up to 90,000 fans for the next two days.

The weather gods haven't played ball, with cloudy and sometimes drizzly Auckland skies and plenty of humidity, which will surely make it sticky going for players out in the middle.

The Eels and Eagles got the tournament started at 12.35pm before a humming crowd which is growing by the minute.

Warriors jerseys were, unsurprisingly, the garment of choice but fans of the Australian clubs were also beginning to make their presence felt in the stadium. There was also all manner of outrageous outfits adding to the festival atmosphere.

"Human whoopee cushions" Jo Scott and Trudy Leighton came last year and were here again because it was "awesome".

"The atmosphere, the games, the crowds - it's going to be a good old time. Go the Warriors," Scott said.

Another Warriors fan, Sione Toluaki, traveled to Auckland from Niue for the Nines for the second year in a row.

"It's an excellent event and it's good to have it in Auckland. I hope they don't move it to Australia, that would be a shame," he said.

"Rugby league is a good game - it's a good family game - and the nines format works really well. Everybody gets involved, and the crowd participation is awesome."

The trains were running on time this morning, with fans getting a free ride upon presenting their Nines ticket. Trains arriving at Kingsland from 11am were fulled to capacity.

Christchurch man Richard Gardner, who came dressed as wrestler Hulk Hogan, said being onboard when of the packed trains was "horrible".

"It was too crammed in there. You know the expression packed in like sardines? It was worse than that. But we're here."

Duco Events spokesman David Higgins said an estimated 43,000 tickets had been sold for today's games. He said many spectators would come and go throughout the day, which explained some of the empty seats at Eden Park.

WHAT ARE THE NRL NINES?

Sixteen NRL teams - the Warriors, Raiders, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Roosters, Eels, Broncos, Bulldogs, Sharks, Knights, Tigers, Titans, Storm, Panthers, Rabbitohs and Dragons - play off in four pools, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarter-finals.

The matches, played over nine-minute halves, will be held today and tomorrow at Auckland's Eden park. The prize pool is a whopping $2.6 million.

Last year's inaugural event in Auckland was roundly hailed a success, prompting other Australian cities to sit up and take notice.

The Herald on Sunday reported last week that officials in Melbourne and Brisbane were carrying out feasibility studies with an eye to holding the tournament in their cities.

Event organisers Duco Events, in conjunction with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, will be hoping this weekend's tournament goes without a hitch so they have the best chance of again securing it for Auckland again once their contract expires in 2015. Watch this space.