All Blacks hot favourite to win Lions series

England may be world champions and the Northern Hemisphere may boast some of the world's greatest players, but the British and Irish Lions are still huge underdogs to win their Test series in New Zealand.

The Lions began their tour in earnest at the weekend, but despite a fairly convincing victory, the bookies are bullish that the Lions will not add to their record of having only won a single series victory in New Zealand in more than 100 years. Bet365 have the All Blacks as 2/5 (1.40) to win the Test series, while the Lions are 15/8 (2.87) and the draw, by no means an impossibility given the closeness of the two squads, is 20/1 (21.00).

Injury to former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio will definitely hamper the Lions' chances and even though there's still more than six weeks to go until the first Test on June 23, expectations are already being tempered. And that's no surprise given the history of the contests between the two.

Of the ten tours since the maiden voyage in 1888, the Lions have won just one series, a 2-1 victory in 1971, with one draw. Between 1977 and 1993, the All Blacks won seven consecutive Tests, while the last tour, in 1993, ended 2-1 to the All Blacks.

A New Zealand whitewash is the 13/8 (2.62) favourite in correct score betting, while a 2-1 home win - a very popular selection given the way the Lions often make a good start to their tours - is a 7/4 (2.75) chance. A Lions 2-1 victory is a 12/5 chance (3.40), which is quite short given their outright odds, while a 3-0 whitewash to the tourists is on offer at 12/1 (13.00).