Rugby World Cup 2011

Dunedin City Council events and special projects officer Kim Newman shows one of many unclaimed 2011 Rugby World Cup certificates and medals on Wednesday.

The Rugby World Cup seems to have staved off any impact the global financial crisis might have had on tourist numbers to the Waitaki District.

Sports Minister Murray McCully thinks the Rugby World Cup could have some benefit for the Government, but does not believe the results will have a political impact.

It was a long time coming. All the planning, all the spending, all the waiting and all the anticipation came to a head at the weekend with the opening of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and the beginning of the South's role in that.

Those enjoying Rugby World Cup games in Dunedin should keep an eye on the sky for the long arm of law.

The Pumas arrive for a warm up before a training session at the University Oval in Dunedin yesterday. The scoreboard message, in Spanish, reads: "Welcome and good luck".

More than 100 people - including children waving Georgian flags - turned out at Queenstown Airport last night to welcome the Georgia Rugby World Cup squad to the resort and New Zealand. Members of the Georgia RWC squad, including captain Irakli Abuseridze (second from right) are pictured taking in the atmosphere at the airport.

Fancy new barriers will provide a smart appearance to the lower Octagon around Rugby World Cup matches, and make it clear where the temporary liquor ban applies, says the Dunedin City Council.

Red meat, as well as rugby, will be on the menu for the thousands of visitors in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup.

England's rugby stars were full of praise for Dunedin's Rugby World Cup welcome yesterday, but less sure how their controversial black jersey will be received in New Zealand.

Former Dunedin opera singer Jonathan Lemalu is one of seven distinguished New Zealand singers chosen to perform national anthems at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

If Agustin Gosio's skills on the rugby field match his performance on the guitar, then Argentina's wing-centre will be one to watch at the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Brad Thorn walked down memory lane yesterday, meeting his first rugby coach, and rumbling around the fields of Cromwell, the town where it all started.

Expat Englishman Adam Morton has gone several better than just flying an English flag ahead of the Rugby World Cup - he has hung them all over his Dunedin villa.

He's not normally averse to making a statement, but even Dunedin radio disc-jockey Damian Newell is not sure about this declaration.

Our series looking at the six teams visiting Dunedin during the Rugby World Cup continues, with Hayden Meikle profiling Georgia.