One-year out from the 2011 Rugby World Cup kickoff, Jock Hobbs has announced tickets will be reserved for the earthquake-hit Canterbury region.
Christchurch-born Hobbs stood down as New Zealand Rugby Union chairman in May, and made his first public appearance since undergoing chemotherapy treatment for leukaemia.
The 50-year-old was confident 12 months would be enough time for Canterbury to lift itself from the rubble to play a significant role in the six-week event.
No decision had yet been made about the number of tickets set aside. Over 500,000 were sold in phase one, with the next allocation starting on Friday.
"We'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks about just how many," Hobbs said.
"We want to make sure we reserve these tickets for Canterbury, the matches within their region, so they don't have to think about ticketing when they've got so many other priorities."
AMI Stadium, which will host seven matches next year, had been through a 'very thorough examination' and was cleared by structural engineers of any damage after last Saturday's 7.1 quake hit at 4.35am.
Accommodation was a concern however, with several hotels ruined. But Hobbs assured those who planned to stay in Christchurch next year that 'contingency plans' were being worked through and official bookings had backup options, although, he admitted the true extent of the damage was not yet evident.
"Canterbury has great spirit and determination, we've seen that in many different ways. When it needs to be done – they get it done. Sometimes a tight time frame can be a motivating factor in itself," he said.
Hobbs was at the heart of New Zealand's successful bid for the tournament in 2005. He revealed being tentative about making an appearance on Thursday and shared how tough his recent treatment had been.
"To be here to day ... with one year to go, it's quite emotional really," he said. "And to be in this magnificent stadium [Eden Park], to see it in such great shape, I'm very pleased to be here."
"I've just completed five rounds of chemotherapy last week. I have what I hope will be my final round, my sixth, at the beginning of next month. I'm nearly through."
"I will have some testing to find out whether it's worked or not. The goal is to make sure it goes into remission. I'm positive about that and I'm very hopeful, we'll have to just wait and see."
Prime Minister John Key also attended the festivities at Eden Park. After visiting Christchurch twice, he said rebuilding had begun with electricity reconnected and water was now suitable to drink from the tap.
"The confidence we can take out of the earthquake is it was the same magnitude as the one felt in Haiti where 230,000 people lost their lives – in Christchurch no one lost their life. That is testament to the strength of our infrastructure," Key said of New Zealand's suitability to host the world's third-largest sporting event.