Govt expecting pause in RWC ticket sales

THE NEW Zealand government is expecting World Cup ticket sales to stall as the fallout from the Christchurch earthquake continues to mount.

Rugby World Cup minister Murray McCully said there was likely to be a pause in ticket sales overseas.

Should they slump, the government will bear some of the cost, as it has underwritten the tournament.

“Whether we can make that up later is another matter,” said McCully.

Despite the city being hit by two severe earthquakes in the space of six moths, McCully remained confident fans would still travel there for matches.

There was no indication yet of tickets being cancelled and he believed there wouldn’t be a surge in fans wanting to give them up either.

“I'm sure those who've got tickets will wait a few weeks till we give them good advice,” he said.