More than 22,000 people, many of them rugby lovers, have flocked to "Hard on the Heels", an exhibition of New Zealand rugby photographs by Peter Bush, at the Otago Museum.
The touring exhibition, which opened on July 16, is being hosted at the museum to coincide with the Rugby World Cup.
The show had attracted family groups, as well as many male rugby enthusiasts, including visiting overseas fans, particularly from Argentina, museum officials said.
Museum marketing co-ordinator Juliette Pearce said the show was proving popular and was likely to attract more than 30,000 visitors by the time it closed on November 6.
The exhibition had benefited by being promoted as part of the national "REAL New Zealand Festival", which includes a series of cultural events timed to coincide with the World Cup, and funded by the Lottery Grants Board.
The museum had also received a $5000 grant from the board to market the show.
A "Rugby Room", featuring rugby memorabilia, including David Kirk's boot from the 1987 World Cup final, had been developed in Dunedin and had proved a "real drawcard" for the show, she said.
The museum had recently been busier than usual at this time of year, and World Cup tourists were contributing to the increased popularity, museum officials said.
