The last of the 28,000 available tickets were sold mid week as the ‘House of Pain’ prepares for an emotional send off after 102 years of international rugby comes to an end.
The home of Otago rugby for over a century, Carisbrook will no longer host Test match rugby as a new stadium – the Forsyth Bar Stadium – is being built in time for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Wales skipper Ryan Jones has actually experienced the atmosphere of Dunedin’s fortress when he appeared in the British and Irish Lions 30-19 victory over Otago in 2005.
Otago Rugby Football Union chief executive Richard Reid said Dunedin admitted this year’s Test, the last one involving the All Blacks at Carisbrook and, if the Forsyth Barr Stadium is built on time, the final test at Carisbrook, was a marketing dream.
“I never once thought it would not sell out. This is a big occasion and people want to be involved. And the All Blacks are seen by everybody as their team.”
