The betting shows Australia the favourites at $1.77 and we think that’s probably fair: we’ve been impressed by the resilience of the Wallabies to both the pressure heaped on them before the series and to the intense physicality of the Lions. It was only a string of injuries in the first Test in Brisbane, and the chaos it caused in their organisation, that took the momentum away from the men in green and gold, and we think that the pendulum has swung back their way.

But there’s only a single point separating the two teams over 160 minutes of brutally intense Test Rugby. And the Lions are sitting at $2.05 to leave Australian shores with the spoils they came for in the first place – a first series win of the century. It could be a brave man who bets against the men in red on Saturday.

Take a look at some of the markets on offer: Hollywood scriptwriters might be keen to bet at $1.5o that the last score of the game will be a penalty, but would you take last-minute try drama at $2.87? It could easily come down to the boots of Lealiifano and Halfpenny: you’ll get $2.00 for Lealiifano to outscore his kicking rival, $1.83 if it’s Halfpenny who takes the most points out of the pair.

We’ll be watching the game, along with lots of other rugby fans in Australia and in Europe!

So the Lions head to Melbourne with half a job done, and with just one more win needed to seal a series victory. And they’re odds-on to claim the series on Saturday at $1.60, where Australia are at $2.35 to bounce back and set up a thriller in Sydney on July 6th. Look out, too, for some interesting betting markets: Israel Folau laid down a marker in the first test, and he’s at $3.00 to cross the whitewash again on Saturday ($8.00 to bag two or more…). The Lions have their own proven finishers, though, and both George North and Alex Cuthbert are at the same $3.00 to score (they’re both at $8.50 to score twice or more). Likely it’ll be a tight game, and it’s a brave man who’ll bet against the Wallabies to get their noses in front at some stage: they’re $1.40 to take the lead at some point, $2.75 to never get in front at all…

Elsewhere in the betting markets, there were a couple of things that caught our eye. We reckon the Lions will cross the whitewash at some point, and both George North and Alex Cuthbert are at $5.50 to be the first man in a red jersey to touch down. Not bad bets, but take a close look at Mike Philips at $10.00 to be the first Lion to register a try – we reckon that might be worth a go. With the kickers that the Lions have brought with them, odds of $1.33 for the first try to be converted look about right, but if the Wallabies defend narrow, that first try could easily be by a corner flag, and a miss might be good value at $3.00.