Rugby: Live bets make it a real nail-biter

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Taniela Moa might not have been the most popular man at the Chiefs this week, but one lucky punter will be forever thankful for the indiscretion that cost his side three points in their 16-13 loss to the Blues.

The punter placed seven bets of $10,000 between the 31st and 35th minutes of the match on the Blues to win. That was the period the Blues were trailing 10-3 but had the Chiefs pinned on their own five metres with referee Ian Smith warning the Chiefs that another scrum infringement could lead to a penalty try.

TAB spokesman Mark Stafford said that when the bets were made the odds averaged $1.80 and would have seen the punter make a profit of about $56,000. He said "live betting" during a match had really taken off in the past two years and was now the thing to do.

Not so lucky were those who plunged on the Hurricanes at short odds - $1.03-$1.05 - when they were 17-0 up against the Rebels.

The week's most aggressive loser placed $10,000 on New Zealand and Sri Lanka hitting the same number of sixes in their innings. Sri Lanka hit four, two more than New Zealand.