Scots look to tighten their belts for 2007 World Cup

New Zealand's planning for the 2007 World Cup is being disrupted by the Scottish dithering over whether they want to host pool games or sell them back to France.

The All Blacks and Scotland have been drawn together in Pool C and are due to play each other in Edinburgh on September 23.

Although the tournament is being hosted by France, two pool games are scheduled for Edinburgh, and four games in Pool B plus a quarter-final are scheduled for Cardiff.

Both Scotland and Wales agreed to back France's bid to host the tournament on the condition they could host pool games. France and England both made strong bids to host the 2007 World Cup so the French were happy to throw the Scots and Welsh a sweetener.

But since casting their vote for France in 2002, the Scots have run into serious financial hardship.

The Scots were keen to host a pool game against the All Blacks and one other against a European qualifier to generate and retain ticket revenue. It is understood that when Scotland agreed to the deal they thought they'd be responsible for ticket prices and marketing the games.

That scenario has not materialised, though, and the pricing for the games in Edinburgh will be set by the Rugby World Cup - the committee in charge of organising the tournament. The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) is fearful tickets will be too expensive and the stadium will not sell out.

It has been reported that a large number of seats will be on the market for 160 ($400). That compares to a normal top price of 65 ($160) for Six Nations games.

The SRU's fear is legitimate as attendances in Edinburgh at the 1999 World Cup were pitiful and Murrayfield was only three-quarters full when the All Blacks sealed their Grand Slam at the end of last month.

Gordon McKie, newly-appointed chief executive of the SRU told the Edinburgh Evening News: "The [World Cup] organisers dictate the prices, not us. We don't want to host any games where we do not have any influence or control over tickets.

"What we are trying to do next year is become more realistic with our pricing strategy but there is a significantly different price structure for 2007, in line with the Rugby World Cup protocol."

The Welsh have said they would be keen to pick up the fixtures but it seems more likely that the French will want to play hosts. McKie has hinted that the Scots will want financial compensation for surrendering their fixtures.

While the tournament is still almost two years away, the All Blacks will want matters sorted sooner rather than later. They have already earmarked training bases in France and have a preliminary travel schedule in mind.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller said: "We are aware of the speculation but as far as we are concerned the All Blacks have a match scheduled for Edinburgh and until we hear otherwise we are planning on that basis."

The SRU is currently in negotiation with the Rugby World Cup and both parties have been urged by the IRB to get the matter resolved before the Six Nations kicks off in February.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY