Organisers of the 2011 Rugby World Cup underlined the decision to kick-off the tournament with a match between New Zealand and Tonga was taken with the country's diverse population in mind.
Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd chief executive Martin Snedden revealed serious consideration had been given to France as opponents for the hosts but felt that including the Pacific Island nations early in the piece would set the right tone for a country that has a huge Tongan, Samoan and Fijian population.
''We also considered using the FIFA model of starting with the current world champions, South Africa, and the games they were playing against Fiji or Wales,' Snedden told PA Sport.
'In the end we decided the New Zealand team had to be involved. Secondly, considering Tonga or France, we decided that what we wanted to do was send a very early signal about the flavour of the tournament.
'The reality is the Pacific Island nations and their people have a huge historical link and presence within New Zealand. In Auckland alone there is a population of 40,000 Tongans. There's a huge link there and that's the signal we wanted to send out right from the start.'
The tournament kicks off on Friday 9 September and Eden Park will host nine matches in all - five pool games, the semi-finals, third place play-off and the Sunday 23 October.
Wellington and Christchurch have also been awarded five pool matches plus two quarter-finals each.
Three games will be played in North Shore (Auckland), Hamilton, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Dunedin, while Whangarei, Nelson, Palmerston North, Napier and Invercargill will stage two matches each.
Ireland will play Australia in Auckland after an opening match in New Plymouth before they round out the pool phase with games in Rotorua and Dunedin with a quarter-final game in Wellington at stake.
