Army of 40,000 fans head for Paris

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The International Rugby Board's official website attracted three million hits yesterday when an extra 2,000 seats went on sale.

Official travel companies reported a surge in demand, while hotels in the French capital were virtually booked out. Television viewing figures have gone through the roof, with predictions of a domestic audience in excess of 13 million at peak time on Saturday evening.

John Hall, chairman of Gullivers Sports Travel, said his company had been inundated with calls yesterday. "We were totally submerged," he added. "We had 300 packages left for the semi-final at £1,000 each and 200 went by lunchtime. Packages are flying off the shelves."

Tickets are in short supply for the 80,000-capacity stadium. The RFU e-mailed every other union yesterday in an attempt to get more but received only 150.

Bernard Lapasset, the French Federation president, has revealed that 50 per cent of the fans watching World Cup matches in the stadiums are female and that more than 16 million viewers saw France's win over New Zealand on French domestic television.

He said: "In the stadiums, 90 per cent of the seats have been filled. Ninety five per cent of seats in France were filled and there were also a lot of people in Scotland and Wales.

"This World Cup has broken the barriers of rugby. So many people who were not interested in rugby have embraced the tournament."