World Cup fever grips Auckland

Huge crowds brought central Auckland to a standstill Friday as New Zealand's largest city took to the streets to celebrate the opening match of the Rugby World Cup.

"I've lived here all my life, I've never seen it like this," Jamie Bonner said as raucous but good natured crowds streamed along the city's main thoroughfare Queen Street.

"It's crazy, I love it." "This is our time," he screamed, his arms aloft. Rugby fans sporting face paint and draped in flags spilled out onto footpaths at bars around the city centre ahead of the tournament's opening game, pitting hometown favourites New Zealand against Tonga.

While New Zealand supporters dominated the impromptu street party, Tongan flags were also prominent in the city, which has a large Pacific islander population. Some, like Elizabeth Sandford, carried the flags of both nations, reflecting the split loyalties of some.

"If you're supporting two teams, you're never going to be on the losing side," she joked.

Crowds were so intense around Auckland's waterfront, designated the official 'party zone' for the city of 1.5 million, that police using loudhailers urged people to watch the match on big screens elsewhere hours before kickoff.

"It's bigger than New Year's Eve," Aucklander Kevin Greenslade said, arguing authorities should have known the area would have been packed to capacity earlier and spread the crowds more widely.

"The atmosphere was electric but you couldn't see anything or get a beer."

The rugby fans who thronged to the city centre included squealing teenaged girls, middle-aged men in All Blacks jerseys and parents carefully negotiating strollers through the crowd. South Africans Lee and Lesley Ronnie brought their 10-year-old twins into the city decked out in Springboks' colours and said the family was revelling in the festive atmosphere. AFP