New Zealand rugby fans are less confident that the All Blacks will win the World Cup this year than they were in 2003 when it was hosted by Australia according to a UMR research survey.
The survey of 750 people was conducted last month and has margin of error of three point six percent.
It shows interest in rugby is slightly higher this year, with sixty-nine percent of respondents saying they're interested, compared with sixty-six perecent in 2003.
Of those interested, seventy seven percent are confident that the All Blacks will win, which is significantly lower than the eighty-five percent who expressed the same view in 2003.
Confidence is lower among men than women.
Of all the teams in the competition, thirty nine percent rate South Africa as the All Blacks' most serious opponents followed by Australia at thirty two percent then England at ten percent.
