Bledisloe Cup rugby: Fans slam Prime TV after score is given away before free-to-air broadcast

The final score was broadcast just before the replay. Photo / Photosport

Rugby fans were left frustrated on Sunday night by a "thoughtless" mistake fans slammed as "not good enough".

Prime TV screened a free full replay of the All Blacks 16-16 draw with the Wallabies at 9:30pm- five and a half hours after the live Sky Sport broadcast.

But as fans got ready to watch the game, not knowing the result, a Prime News update reported the fulltime score.

And it didn't take long before watchers took to the free-to-air network's Facebook page to express their frustration.

"Just tuned in to watch the rugby at 9.30. Managed to not see the results all day. Just before it starts, prime news update with the outcome. Well done you programming num nuts!" one fan wrote.

"Congratulations Prime TV, for announcing the score on your news bulletin JUST BEFORE the game aired. My husband managed to avoid hearing any media coverage all day, then tuned in to watch the game, only to hear the score announced just before the coverage! Not good enough," wrote another.

All Blacks Caleb Clarke during the All Blacks v Wallabies first Bledisloe Cup test. Photo / Photosport

"Arghhhh! Seriously why give out the score in the minute before the game starts???!!!!" another wrote.

"Absolutely. I mean, I don't mind waiting for the delayed coverage. Fair enough as it's playing free-to-air then. But why do that to us! So thoughtless. It really spoils it for me.....don't want to watch it now," wrote a fan.

Prime has apologised for the mistake, ensuring it won't happen again during this weekend's second Bledisloe test in Auckland.

"As rugby fans ourselves we very much appreciate that spoilers like this are frustrating," Prime said in a statement.

"The news team are not aware of what is currently on-air when they are scheduling their Prime News updates, so we are working with them to make sure this doesn't happen during sporting events again."

They also explained why the replay had to be played at 9:30pm after fans questioned it's late time, saying it was due to their broadcasting rights deal.