5,000 Irish fans fly south for World Cup

AS many as 5,000 fans will travel from Ireland to New Zealand for this year’s Rugby World Cup, which gets under way on Friday.

Reports suggested that no more than 1,500 fans would make the journey to support Declan Kidney’s team, but the latest analysis of Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 ticket sales shows up to 5,000 will take the trip.

It is also thought that another 5,000 to 10,000 Irish supporters living in New Zealand and other countries will also travel to cheer on the men in green.