TAB in 'uncharted territory' ahead of Bledisloe Cup match

Julian Savea charges ahead in the 2016 Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship opener against Australia in Sydney last Saturday. Photo / Photosport

Ahead of this weekend's second instalment of the 2016 Bledisloe Cup series in Wellington, the TAB are paying a miniscule $1.07 for a win to the All Blacks, the lowest pay-out for an All Blacks Bledisloe Cup win in the TAB's 20 year sports betting history.

Speaking to Radio Sport's Kent Johns, Paul Moate from the TAB confirmed that it was the lowest pay-out he had ever seen for a trans-Tasman clash.

"We've looked back through all the logs we have here, and we cannot think of a time where the All Blacks have been $1.07 against the Australians," Moate said.

Moate confirmed that of all the bets placed on the head-to-head option between the two sides, 99 percent of punters backed the All Blacks to take the victory at Westpac Stadium tomorrow night.

With the All Blacks are paying out at a tiny $1.07, the Wallabies are paying out at a comparatively extravagant $7.50, while the TAB also have the All Blacks listed as a 19.5 point favourite.

Moate said that the last time the All Blacks were so heavily backed by the TAB in a Bledisloe Cup match was in 1996, where the two sides faced off at Athletic Park in the capital in atrocious conditions.

Leading into that match, the All Blacks were paying $1.18. They went on to dismantle the Australians 43-6.

Moate said that the odds on offer of Australia beating the All Blacks were comparable to that of smaller rugby playing nations, highlighting the odds of the All Blacks vs Scotland game played at Murrayfield in Edinburgh two years ago.

"I can tell you when the All Black toured Europe at the end of the year in 2014, the All Blacks were a 20.5 point favourite against Scotland in Scotland, so that's the sort of discrepancy we're talking about between the two teams at this stage," Moate said.

Despite the overwhelming majority of punters predicting the All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe Cup this weekend, Moate revealed that one of the more popular bets being placed ahead of the match was the Wallabies to be leading at half-time, and the All Blacks to be leading at full-time.

"That's [Australia to lead at half-time and All Blacks to win] the second best backed option in that half/full-time book, which is paying $8.

"The only other option in that book that we're seeing much action on is the draw at half and/or full-time, which is paying $15 at the moment."

Moate admitted he would like to see the Wallabies do well in the match, as an upset win to the Australian side would result in huge financial benefits for the betting agency.

"It would certainly be a big, big result for us, no doubt about that," Moate laughed.

"Maybe if they could make a bit of a game of it in the first half."