All Blacks v Black Ferns: How punters preferred women’s rugby to men’s

The All Blacks and Black Ferns. Photos / Photosport

Last weekend’s Black Ferns Rugby World Cup semifinal marked the first time Kiwi punters had bet more money on the women’s team than on the All Blacks.

Numbers held by the TAB show turnover for the semifinal against France hit $400,000, about $100,000 more than the All Blacks test against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday morning.

Jodi Williams, TAB chief marketing and customer officer, said the switch in betting priorities showed how Kiwis had embraced the Black Ferns.

“The women’s Rugby World Cup has captured the imagination of many New Zealanders, but also our punters, who are now backing our women in black as part of their regular game-watching routine as they would with the All Blacks. And who can blame them with the way the Black Ferns have played throughout this tournament?

”This is a reflection of how Kiwis have embraced women’s rugby, and women’s sport in general, as we’ve seen these figures continue to grow in recent years across many sports, particularly football and cricket.”

The previous weekend’s fixtures saw the All Blacks scrappy match against Japan (around $600,000) top the Black Ferns quarter-final against Wales (about $160,000).

The rise in interest in women’s rugby was likely to continue this weekend with the Black Ferns facing England in the Rugby World Cup final, while the All Blacks face Scotland on Monday morning.

With the final still to be played, this World Cup has generated $2.5 million in turnover for the TAB, compared with about $700,000 for the the 2017 tournament.

Outside of rugby, the TAB has seen a 25 per cent increase in turnover on women’s sport this year, compared with the previous 12 months. There has been a 14 per cent increase in new customers placing bets on women’s sport in the past year.

Cricket and football have been two of the biggest growth areas, with new leagues launching, and an increase in prominence for international fixtures and tournaments.

The All Blacks two Bledisloe Cup fixtures in September turned over a little more than $1 million each, while the Black Ferns test against Australia in Christchurch in August turned over about $100,000.