World Cup crowds boost for organisers

Crowd figures for the Rugby World Cup in Australia have already exceeded expectations.

That was the upbeat message from Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O’Neill in Perth today, as the Western Australian capital prepared for a sell-out Pool C clash between England and South Africa.

With a quarter of the 48 World Cup games played, the total attendance figure stands at 365,000.

“That is very much in excess of expectations,” said O’Neill. “Although it’s early days, the signs are there that the people have embraced the tournament.”

Initiatives targeted at the Australian public to adopt a second team, such as Georgia in Perth and Japan in Townsville, have also taken off better than expected, according to O’Neill.

“Australian sports fans have voted with their feet. Australians and their passionate love of sport go a long way to making this a great event,” he added.

O’Neill said that so far the tournament was well within budget and looked set to make a surplus of AUD 80-87 million, with revenue from ticket sales at around AUD 200-207 million and costs at AUD 120 million.

With 48 Test matches being played over seven weeks, O’Neill also defended the scheduling of matches in favour of the larger union countries.

“It’s not an easy task,” he admitted.

“We can’t get away from the reality that broadcasters from those territories have paid handsomely for those rights, and the match schedule reflects the broadcasters’ wishes. It’s not a coincidence that those big matches are on weekends.”