KEY POINTS:
Thousands of Kiwi fans who spent big money for tickets to the Rugby World Cup semifinal and final in anticipation of seeing the All Blacks play have been left bitterly disappointed.
Most people who had bought tickets had already left New Zealand, Sporting Tours manager Steve Kirwan said
yesterday. But others face a miserable, gruelling flight to the other side of the world knowing full-well they won't see the All Blacks play.
However, yesterday's defeat hasn't put Aucklander John McBride off heading to France.
Although disappointed by the result, he said he would continue his plans to go with a friend to watch the semifinal at the weekend. "We will still go and enjoy it."
But not everybody's feeling so philosophical. Bob and Margaret Graydon have vowed they will never travel to another Rugby World Cup again after their "experience from hell".
The Waiheke Island couple have battled disrupted travel plans and stolen possessions - and now find their journey will end without them seeing the All Blacks play.
A connecting flight within Australia, where the couple had been to watch the NRL grand final, was delayed so they missed their plane to France and had to get a later flight.
When they arrived in Paris, the Graydons hired a rental car to drive to Avignon in the south of France but the directions given to them by their travel agent were wrong and they ended up in Marseille.
While there, the couple were waiting in a traffic jam when two men on scooters pulled up next to them, opened the back doors of their car and stole a lap top and a bag with their rugby and plane tickets inside.
And the final score had the couple regretting ever taking the trip.
"We were absolutely gutted, "Mrs Graydon said. "This was their year. If they didn't win this year, they won't win again."
The Graydons had been planning and saving for their $50,000 trip for 18 months.
They were also at the Rugby World Cup in Wales in 1999 when the All Blacks lost to France.
"We will never travel to another World Cup again, ever. Twice is enough."
With the rearranged accommodation, flight and stolen items, Mrs Graydon estimates the couple have lost about $10,000 and are yet to see what their travel insurance will cover.
If they get their rugby tickets back they probably won't attend the matches, Mrs Graydon said.
Die-hard fans Bruce and Jude Woodhouse arranged to leave for Paris yesterday afternoon, despite the loss. They had bought tickets for both semifinals and the final, and what they thought was a back-up option - the third and fourth playoff.
"Probably the most unfortunate thing is we have looked forward to it for more than two years," Mr Woodhouse told 3News. "We are going to get to Paris and we aren't going to see the All Blacks play."
Mr Kirwan said there were about 4500 New Zealanders booked on coach tours for the semifinals and final, plus the estimated several other thousand who were travelling to the games independently.
He said tickets were non-refundable and there was always a risk the All Blacks wouldn't make the semifinal or final.
Tickets to the semifinals and final were on sale on auction website Trade Me yesterday with prices up to $6800 for two final tickets. None of the auctions had bids on them last night.
Mr Kirwan said tickets had been sold out for months, with some package deals to the games costing more than $16,000.
He said he was expecting people from other nations to telephone tomorrow to see if anybody had cancelled in the hope of getting tickets.
Fans who had bought semifinal and final tickets would be in deep despair, he said. "It's unbelievably diabolical what has happened. It's a catastrophe. I feel for them all."
