RWC tickets held for sale to Canterbury earthquake affected

The Webb Ellis Cup. Photo / Sarah Ivey

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Tickets to some Canterbury matches for next year's Rugby World Cup have been set aside for those affected by Saturday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

Launching the festival surrounding the tournament at Eden Park today, New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs said the detail of how many tickets and when they would be made available was not yet known.

"The people of Canterbury have obviously got so many other things on their minds, so what we're going to do is reserve some tickets for the Canterbury matches to make available for the people of Canterbury."

The tournament organisers expected to have more detail in about two weeks, he said.

The second phase of ticketing - for individual games - begins tomorrow.

Team and venue tickets have already gone on sale.

Today's launch was attended by Prime Minister John Key and other officials involved in the cup.

Attendees tried to break the world record for the most successive passes of a rugby ball, unofficially reaching 270 after three attempts.

A one year to go advertisement was also revealed showcasing local landmarks and tourism activities and those present were given New Zealand food ranging from oysters to lamb racks.