France, March 16 -- Organisers of the 2023 rugby World Cup in France on Tuesday apologised for the chaos which prevented thousands of fans from applying for tickets on the internet.

Special packs went on sale online on Monday for the tournament but the site crashed under the stress of more than 250,000 connections.

While hailing the interest as an unprecedented success in the history of sport, the organisers conceded: "This first phase has not allowed all rugby lovers to get the tickets they could hope for. France 2023 is sorry for all the disappointed of the first day."

However, among the disappointments, there were happy customers.

"After one hour waiting, I finally have my 6 packs for Lyon," said one fan.

Further rounds of ticket ...