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Both Wellington and Christchurch will be keeping fingers crossed that New Zealand's 2011 Rugby World Cup organisers will reject a proposal this week to play the quarter-finals at just two venues.
The IRB has recommended to Rugby New Zealand 2011 they play the four quarter-finals in just two cities to give fans certainty about where their team will play if they make the knockout rounds.
If only two venues are used, then the draw can be structured so fans will know where their team will play their quarter-final, regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group.
In 2007, the organisers had expected hosts France to top their group and play their quarter-final in Paris. Instead, they lost the tournament's opening game to Argentina and ended up playing the All Blacks in Cardiff.
That caused major ticketing and logistical issues, with thousands of French fans having to buy tickets from Irish fans who had taken a punt on Ireland finishing second in their group.
But if RNZ 2011 agrees to awarding quarter-final games to just two venues, then either Wellington or Christchurch will miss out, with Auckland believed to be guaranteed one of the sites given its greater ability to cope with large volumes of visitors and the capacity of Eden Park.
RNZ 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden will reveal on Thursday where the games will be played.
"Obviously I can't say what we are going to recommend to the board," said Snedden, "but they have made a proposal about using two venues and said to us that if we want to use three, then we have to make a case for that and explain why.
"I can say that the proposal of using just two has a lot of merit but we have weighed up a lot of factors in reaching our recommendation."
The factors Rugby New Zealand 2011 has taken into account are the emotional impact of leaving an ambitious city without a knockout game to host.
Snedden said he is also conscious of their objective of creating a stadium of four million people and the promise of having a nationwide allocation of games.
It is predicted that between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors will need to be accommodated in the quarter-final venues.
That will put enormous strain on both Wellington and Christchurch and Snedden says that, regardless of which venue wins the bid, the surrounding towns and villages are going to have to be used to accommodate people.
Regardless of the final venues, the four quarter-finals will be staggered, with two on a Saturday and two on a Sunday.
