Irish fans lead ticket charge
With just over 14 months to go until New Zealand 2011, organisers revealed this week that their highest number of overseas subscribers had been of a green tint. Two months on from the opening of the ballot process for passes, Ireland has applied for more tickets than any other foreign country.
It seems that, in spite of being left dispirited and deflated when Bordeaux was enveloped in emerald in 2007, Irish fans are willing to put invest their faith – and funds – in following Declan Kidney’s side around the Land of the Long White Cloud next year.
“Well, obviously the most applications have come from fans here in New Zealand. But after that Ireland has had the second highest application rate, just ahead of England,” said Mike Jaspers of the RWC 2011 team.
“Already we’ve had 3,500 people apply for the Ireland team packs (a bundle that includes a ticket for each of the four pool matches). The process for ‘single game’ match tickets hasn’t even started yet, so we’re looking forward to seeing a lot of Irish fans here next year.”
The Irish fans, it seems then, will be ready. But will New Zealand be ready for the influx of fans from all over the world in September next year?
Already there have been warning signs that it may not be. Accommodation has been a major problem in New Plymouth this weekend ahead of the All Blacks’ meeting with Ireland this morning.
If this is how New Plymouth copes with a home Test, how is it likely to fare when the invasion happens for real? Ireland kick off their campaign here with a September 11 showdown against Eddie O’Sullivan’s US Eagles.
Probably the best advice for Irish fans planning on being at the Yarrow Stadium is: pack your tent and hope for none of the wild weather which has whipped around the town’s eerily quiet streets all week.
Irrespective of outcomes on the field, this tour has given Kidney the perfect chance to prepare for next year. Ireland get to play or at least train in three of the four cities they will visit in the pool stages – Auckland, New Plymouth and Rotorua, where Friday’s clash with the Maori takes place.
His decision not to spend the entirety of this week here in New Plymouth put out some of the locals, who must rank among the most easily offended people on the planet.
But in hindsight, it was another wise move by the coach. Mindful of the cabin fever that set in at Ireland’s infamous industrial base in Bordeaux, he will surely avoid cocooning his players in this slumbering setting for too long next September.
Team manager Paul McNaughton also took the opportunity this week to visit Ireland’s fourth destination – the state-of-the-art Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on the South Island. While there is still a risk that the indoor arena may not be completed in time, should it make it, it shapes up to be a fantastic setting for what could be a crucial game in Ireland’s journey.
The adage that ‘if you build it, they will come’ doesn’t really apply in this case. The Irish fans are coming anyway, the hope is everything is built in time for the partyp
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