And 2016's Super Rugby favourite is...

Ben Smith and Nasi Manu lift the Super Rugby trophy. Photo / Getty Images

The mighty Highlanders have received a hefty slap down from the bookies.

While friend and foe drool over the unfancied southerners following their Cinderella Super Rugby title win, the TAB remains cold-heartedly unconvinced they are much more than a flash in the pan.

The just-released odds for 2016 have the Chiefs and Crusaders as favourites on $5.50, with the Hurricanes and flaky Waratahs close behind.

The Jamie Joseph-coached champs are next and well back on $9 alongside South Africa's Sharks, who finished clear of the 2015 playoffs in 11th place.

The betting agency has also given the expanded competition a sort of thumbs down, rating the new Japanese and Argentinian franchises as $251 no-hopers.

The Super Rugby final was a betting bonanza, with more than $1.7m wagered - much more than for any other Super final including the million dollar 2006 fog-bound duel between the Crusaders and Hurricanes.

It also pulled in much more money than the Bledisloe Cup betting leader from 1996, which totalled around $1.15m. Saturday's final in Wellington had the seventh highest betting turnover for a sports event on a list headed by the 2011 World Cup final and David Tua's world heavyweight title fight against Lennox Lewis in 2000.