RWC: The numbers for you to gawp at

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24 DAYS TO KICK OFF!

From the NZ Herald
The Rugby World Cup in numbers:' 4bn' viewers, 2.4m tickets, 600 players
2:37PM Tuesday August 14, 2007 - By Edward Gay

There are 24 days to go until the first of 48 games between 20 teams in the Rugby World Cup. We check out some other stats.

* 95 countries have national rugby teams, although only 20 play in the Rugby World Cup. Teams like Bosnia Herzegovina, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago have missed out on qualifying

* The largest distance between World Cup venues is 1900kms from Marseille to Edinburgh. The All Blacks play Italy in Marseille before playing Portugal in Lyon - 320km away - and then travel to Edinburgh to play Scotland.

* Approximately 4 billion people will watch some of the 2007 World Cup, according to corporate events organiser Sports World.

* 1.8 million rugby fans, 600 players and 3500 media will visit Europe for the Rugby World Cup, according to travlescope.co.uk and europeshoppe.com.au

* 2.4 million tickets have gone on sale for the 2007 tournament and over 2 million have already been sold, the Rugby World Cup's official website says

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