Late chance to pick up cup tickets

By WYNNE GRAY in Sydney

New Zealanders frustrated by the high price of World Cup deals will get a late chance to exploit a ticketing loophole and follow the All Blacks on their quest.

Tournament deals for the World Cup have been slow to sell in New Zealand because of the premiums being charged by Rugby World Cup, Qantas and demands they be linked to accommodation.

However, on August 18, the Australian Rugby Union is expected to release tens of thousands of tickets to all tests involving the All Blacks and the sudden-death playoff matches.

New Zealanders will be able to access those tickets via the internet, and as long as they can provide an Australian postal address, they will be able to collect the tickets.

An ARU official conceded that was a loophole in the system which could be exploited by All Black supporters who would then only pay face value for test tickets.

At a business lunch this week in Sydney, ARU chief executive John O'Neill revealed that two million further tickets to all World Cup games would be released on August 18.

About one million tickets have already been sold in Australia and 400,000 allocated for overseas supporters.

Ticket prices for the All Black pool games, cited on the official World Cup website, would start at A$10 for the game against Canada to A$140 for the clash with Wales.

Quarter-finals tickets ranged in price from A$95 to A$295, semifinals from A$150 to A$420, and the final, A$195 to A$535.