World Cup tickets in limbo for New Zealanders

More than 60,000 Rugby World Cup tickets allocated for New Zealand rugby fans remain in limbo because of a pricing impasse involving the International Rugby Board (IRB).

About 500,000 tickets to matches for the October-November tournament have gone on the Australian market this week and appear to be the best chance for New Zealand fans to see the cup at a semi-affordable price because of the pricing row.

They can be bought over the internet from the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) website as long as an Australian residential address is provided.

The difficulty for the ARU is that it can't sell the specially allocated tickets for New Zealand directly on to the New Zealand market, without the tournament governing body, Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWC), approving the terms and conditions.

RWC has insisted the special allocation be sold as travel packages, which generally include a $1000 RWC licensing fee, high hotel prices with predetermined number of nights stipulations, airline fees and travel agent commissions.

The ARU has been trying to persuade RWC to lower the pricing structure, but so far without success.

The problem is that the cup sponsoring airline, Qantas, and the designated travel agents are still trying to sell their high-priced packages in the New Zealand market.

"It's a commercial dilemma, a legal dilemma that has to be sorted out," said ARU managing director John O'Neill.

"I couldn't give the New Zealanders any answers at the weekend.

"They [the Rugby Union] are disturbed about it. They have written to the IRB. They want to know what is happening and I can only tell them clinically where they are up to."

Mr O'Neill said that if the IRB and RWC had consulted the ARU earlier, the impasse might have been avoided.

"If we went into the market while Qantas was still trying to sell their packages, we would pollute the market, so I understand the dilemma.

"So we've got New Zealanders saying, 'Where our are tickets?' and you've got the IRB having a relationship with Qantas.

"It's a legal minefield."

At stake are 3100 tickets each for the final and semifinals, 10,000 for the quarter-finals and 15,000 for the pool matches.

Mr O'Neill said the travel packages had not sold well in New Zealand because of the price.

Whereas it cost 4500 New Zealanders between A$1300 ($1470) and A$1600 ($1794) for a four-day weekend in Sydney for the first Bledisloe Cup match last month, a four-day weekend for the World Cup final would cost a New Zealander about A$6500 ($7288).

"It is fair to say we have not any control of it, but we've certainly got feedback from New Zealand and lots of others along the food chain that the pricing is the major inhibitor," Mr O'Neill said.

"It may end up being late in the piece when we get a resolution [for the special-allocation tickets]."