Rugby: IRB chief expects more thrills this time

Mike Miller. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The boss of international rugby says coaches know they have an obligation to entertain as well as win at the World Cup, but expects survival instincts will take over when the tournament reaches its final weeks.

While there is great anticipation in the buildup to the quadrennial tournament, more often than not it disappoints as a spectacle, no more so than four years ago when the France event was marred by a series of boring kick-a-thons as the competition reached the knockout phases.

"[With] tournaments like this, where there is so much at stake, people tend to get a little bit more defensive," said IRB chief executive Mike Miller.

"It normally goes in two phases: in pool play, people go out to win; in the knockout phase you go out not to lose.

"I think it will be a more attack-minded, more attractive brand of rugby than the last World Cup. Yes, it will close down a bit, but defensive games can be just as exciting as all-out attacking games."

Miller hoped the law interpretations at the breakdown, which favour the attacking team more than they did four years ago, would free up the stellar talent between numbers 12 and 15.

"People were kicking the ball away a lot [in 2007] because they were afraid of losing it in their own half. Now if you go into the breakdown, you've got more chance of retaining it than you did four years ago. There's less of that fear factor."

Still, he's not expecting rugby's version of the Harlem Globetrotters to emerge when the tournament reaches its pointy end.

"Coaches understand that they should try to entertain as well as win, but deep down they know all they'll be judged upon is whether they win or not. You always have that tension."

The tournament's showpiece stadium Eden Park also has the potential to be a source of tension.

The $320 million Eden Park upgrade has underwhelmed many punters but Miller has given it the tick.

While Eden Park may lack the grandeur of Paris' Stade de France or Twickenham, or the wow-factor of Wales' Millennium Stadium, "you don't want to be in the same sort of stadium all over the world - that would be boring".

Eden Park passed its World Cup dress rehearsal exam against the Wallabies last weekend, although its detractors point out that under-sized roofs leave spectators, even in high-priced seats, at the mercy of the elements and the banks of temporary seats at the end make it look cheap.

The park has been compared poorly to other stadia that have hosted big sporting events but Miller is not buying it.

"Eden Park is a fitting place to hold a World Cup final," he said.

"A lot of people are going to get wet all over the place in New Zealand if there's certain conditions. The stadia here for the most part aren't set up to cover people if there's rain. What can you do about it?

"It is what it is. People will have a good view and if they get wet they get wet. Rugby is a game to be played in all weathers."

The increased capacity of 60,000 is modest by world standards.

"Of course we'd like to have a bigger capacity, but it doesn't make any sense in a country this size. It's not just about the tournament, it's about what comes afterwards. There's no point creating white elephants."

There is no greater evidence of how ground-sharing by sports codes hamstrings developers than Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

While it might have been shut out of knockout round action, the ground threatens to be a show stealer, completed from scratch for less than $200 million.

"They've done a great job. It's great to see a stadium that is a rugby-only stadium. There's no running track around it. It's not a cricket oval, so people are going to be in close. It'll be a great atmosphere with the roof on and it's cutting-edge technology."

Miller also singled out the remodelled Toll Stadium (Okara Park) in Whangarei, saying it was a good example of the World Cup leaving a legacy for the community.