More than 40,000 fans are expected for the World Cup's opening match, and only single tickets remained, Jimmy Smith said.
The Kiwis-Kangaroos clash begins at 10.05pm New Zealand time on Thursday in Sydney, a schedule criticised particularly in New Zealand.
Smith, a former second-rower, said organisers had to balance player recovery with costs and a five-week limit for the tournament.
"The contact nature of the game, you've got to have your six or seven day turnaround, so that's a given."
He said organisers chose 10 teams and fewer matches because the competition could not financially justify six weeks.
"So they've said, 'right, we're going to have 10 teams. We're going to condense it into five weeks and we're going to get it going as quickly as possible after the (NRL) grand final.'"
Smith said a Thursday night start allowed the competition to begin quickly after the NRL grand final, and Australian league fans were accustomed to that slot.