The plan to expose Rugby World Cup visitors to rural Waikato’s sights and smells while in the company of rugby greats has been canned due to a spectacular lack of interest.

Experience Waikato had been hoping to sell 800 tickets to the farm tours for Cup visitors – where they would mingle with former players such as Sir Colin Means, Sir Brian Lochore, Ian Kirkpatrick and Richard Loe.

But while they had 800 tickets available, only eight were sold.

Experience Waikato chairman Doug Edmeades says cancelling the farm tours was very disappointing but Cup visitors are not interested in anything except rugby.

“Oh, we’re hugely disappointed, we’ve been working on this for six months, and the irony of it all is that everyone we spoke to, and there were a lot of people, said what a great idea this is going to be excellent.

"But that’s not what the visitors wanted, so the market has spoken.”

However, Mr Edmeades says the farm tour idea is still valid and he will try to relaunch the farm tours next year, ironically without the distraction of the Rugby World Cup.     

While Experience Waikato spent $37,000 from the Lottery Festival fund on the cancelled tours, but Edmeads says not all is lost as the website and IP ready to be reused in 2012.   

"The concept we’ve come up with we know it’s a winning formula, it’s just a matter of getting the right timing."