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Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch may be broken but people in the earthquake-devastated New Zealand city that has become a focus of the Rugby World Cup know how to turn tragedy into a festival.

“Life goes on, you’ve got to stay positive,” Mark Maynard, whose wife Kelly was killed in the quake, said as Sonny Bill Williams lifted his three-year-old daughter Matilda when the All Blacks met families of the victims.

Across town at the official fanzone, an emphatic Adam Neath said “this is our World Cup” as he carried hotdogs to his family seated in a mini stadium watching a big-screen television screening England playing Georgia.

The screens and grandstands surround a makeshift rugby field and up to 40,000 fans are expected in the park if the All Blacks make the quarterfinals, according to Christchurch City marketing manager Richard Stokes.

That’s a similar size crowd that would have turned out if the match had been held at Stadium Christchurch, better known as Lancaster Park, had it not been wrecked along with much of the city in the deadly February earthquakes.

The International Monetary Fund estimates the devastation in Christchurch, home to 350,000 people, will cost about 15 billion New Zealand dollars ($12.4 billion), making it one of the most expensive quakes for global insurers.

“The overall rebuild is a 10 to 15 year job,” said Roger Sutton, chief executive of the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority.

The International Rugby Board is playing its part to repair the city with a special World Cup appeal to go towards rebuilding the rugby infrastructure.

It was appropriate “to recognize the ongoing challenges faced by Christchurch and the rugby community,” IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said.

Christchurch, the main city in the province of Canterbury, is synonymous with rugby and home to many household names including All Blacks Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, and legends Alex “Grizz” Wyllie and Fergie McCormick.

“Christchurch is huge as far as any rugby person is concerned and it would have been great to play here,” Scotland captain Alastair Kellock said after their game against Argentina was moved to Wellington.

Just over a year ago a 7.1 magnitude quake caused widespread damage, a subsequent 4.9 quake on Boxing Day destabilized more buildings, then came the 6.3 magnitude killer on Feb. 22.

It struck when streets were packed with lunchtime crowds and left 181 people dead, destroyed much of the inner-city with its historic stone buildings and destroyed or seriously damaged at least 15,000 homes.

The streets resembled a warzone, the famous Lancaster Park was ruined, but people in the hometown of Super rugby’s most successful team, the Canterbury Crusaders, remained positive.

Within three months a joke book “You Know You’re From CHCH When...” was on sale and became an immediate best seller.

Lines from the book include: “You tell your kids Santa will land on the lawn where the chimney is; Dressing up to head into town involves putting on a hard hat, high-visibility vest and safety boots.”

“Our city is broken — our spirits are far from crushed,” said mayor Bob Parker, the face of Christchurch when he issued grim daily updates in the immediate aftermath of the February tragedy.

It would have been impossible for Christchurch to host its allocated seven World Cup games. The stadium was ruined and two-thirds of the hotels are either being pulled down or still being repaired.

“It’s sad we haven’t got any [live World Cup games] but that’s life,” Maynard said, hugging his daughters Matilda and four-year-old Molly.

“We might miss out on a lot in 10 to 15 years, but one day the city’s going to be great again.”

Agence France-Presse