About 100 fans found their seats had been double-booked when they arrived at Wellington's Westpac Stadium for Tuesday's British and Irish Lions clash with the Hurricanes.
Ticketek blamed a "printing error" for the glitch, Fairfax reported, which involved spectators who bought tickets in a temporary seating bay.
It was assuring fans and New Zealand Rugby the error would not be repeated for this Saturday's second All Blacks test against the Lions, also at the venue.
Tuesday night's match drew 38,690 spectators, and some of those affected were taken by a Ticketek representative to the Members' Lounge before given a personal apology.
Most missed the opening 20 minutes of the match.
Ticketek New Zealand spokesman Kyle Patterson said several people were given the same seat numbers by mistake.
The company claimed there had been no overselling, as the correct seats did exist.
"We apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused, and assure all fans heading to Saturday night's test that the technical issue with the printing has been rectified," he said.
All the affected fans were eventually accommodated either in the lounge or in "contingency seating" around the stadium.
Ticketek did not believe a refund was necessary.