Evil Dave still leads Rugby World Cup betting

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A $130,000 bet on the All Blacks to lose the World Cup, placed by a punter known only as 'Dave,' remains the largest bet placed on the tournament, TAB bookie Mark Stafford says.

But, overall, New Zealanders are getting more optimistic.

This week, 70% of the money has been on a New Zealand win, Mr Stafford says.

That compares to just 43% of bets placed on the All Blacks to retain the Web Ellis Cup during the event's first week (albeit with a full spread of teams still in the competition).

And the biggest single bet on New Zealand has climbed from the opening week's $50,000 to a $100,000 wager just placed at $1.60.

In case you're wondering, 'Dave' placed his $130,000 bet back in August at $1.55 – meaning it will return $71,500 if Richie and the boys do choke.

Now is also a good time to check back on Forsyth Barr's pre-RWC stats crunching.

After looking at various metrics, the brokerage gave the All Blacks a 43% chance of winning, ahead of England (16%), South Africa (13%), Australia (12%), Ireland (8%), France (5%), Wales (3%) and everyone else (1%).

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Evil Dave still leads Rugby World Cup betting

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