Women’s Rugby World Cup: Extra final tickets go in minutes

Fans at Eden Park during the Black Ferns' semifinal against France. Photo / Photosport

Extra seats made available for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and England have sold out in minutes.

A review of Eden Park spacing resulted in extra seats being made available to fans, following extraordinary demand since the Black Ferns’ semifinal win over France.

Extra tickets went on sale at 6pm last night, and were gone almost right away.

Organisers are now focussed on logistics of getting 40,000 fans into the stadium safely - with the first 5000 through the gates given a free poi.

Added security and functional measures have been put in place to cater for the extra capacity.

Rugby World Cup 2021 tournament director Michelle Hooper said: “We have been absolutely blown away by the support Kiwis and fans around the world have shown for this tournament and for the amazing wāhine toa who have played with their hearts and souls over the past five weeks.

“The stage is set for a dream final to what has been an extraordinary and unforgettable Rugby World Cup with the Black Ferns taking on number one ranked England at home in front of what will be a crowd on a scale we have never seen before for the women’s game.

“It was important to us that we exhausted every avenue to allow fans the chance to witness the finals live in stadium. We have worked hard to convert previously operational spaces into additional seating and put in place safety measures to cater to the extra fans.

“Those who miss out, or can’t be with us at Eden Park, our challenge to you is to host a watch party at home or in your local neighbourhood and help us to break more records and reach the largest ever domestic viewership for a women’s sports match.”

At halftime of the bronze final, Aotearoa’s iconic Pātea Māori Club will perform their much-loved song Poi E, a tune that has become synonymous with women’s rugby since it was first played at the tournament during opening match day at Eden Park on 8 October.

International award-winning artist Benee will then take the stage at full-time of the bronze final and again at half-time of the final.

Born and raised in Grey Lynn — a stone’s throw from Eden Park — the performance will be a welcome homecoming for Benee, who first rose to fame when her track Supalonely went viral on TikTok.

The performances will be exclusive in-stadium entertainment offerings for fans, not included on the television coverage.

The world record for attendance at a women’s rugby match day is set to tumble once again, after the opening match day attracted a record crowd of 34,235.

The final will be available live on Spark Sport and free-to-air on Three starting from 7pm on Saturday 12 November.

The Rugby World Cup has so far attracted 107,600 fans, the most of any women’s World Cup.