The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
Breyton Paulse is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Africa, scoring 26 tries.
John William Smit, OIS, is a South African former professional rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the Springbok rugby union team and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He played most of his senior career as a hooker, but also won 13 caps as a prop, where he had also played for South Africa's under-21 team. He retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped South African player ever, with 111 appearances.
Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls and Western Province in South Africa, for the Bulls and the Stormers in Super Rugby, and for Toulon in the French Top 14, and won 124 caps for the South Africa national team.
The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations. The series was contested in its original double round-robin format, with each team playing the others twice.
SANZAAR is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from its member unions.
The 2003 Tri Nations Series was contested from 12 July to 16 August between the national rugby union teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand won the tournament for the fifth time.
The 2002 Tri Nations Series was contested from 13 July to 17 August between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The All Blacks won the tournament.
The 1996 Tri Nations Series was the inaugural Tri Nations Series, a rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It was contested from 6 July to 10 August. New Zealand won all four of their matches to claim the title, as well as retaining the Bledisloe Cup won the previous year for their two wins over Australia.
The 1998 Tri Nations Series was contested from 11 July to 22 August between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Springboks won the tournament.
The 1999 Tri Nations Series was the fourth Tri Nations Series, a rugby union tournament contested by the men's national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It was contested from 10 July to 28 August 1999. New Zealand won the title, winning three of their four matches, including both against South Africa; however, they split the series against Australia, who retained the Bledisloe Cup, having won it outright the previous year.
New Zealand and South Africa have been playing Test Match Rugby against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13–5. It is argued to be the biggest rivalry in World Rugby history. There is considerable history behind these matches, much of it off the field. In 1981, there were numerous protests in New Zealand over the Springboks coming to tour New Zealand due to the then South African government's policy of Apartheid. Consequently, subsequent tours were cancelled and the All Blacks and Springboks did not meet again until August 1992, in Johannesburg, when the Springboks were re-admitted to World Rugby. Until 1996 New Zealand had never won a series in South Africa but South Africa had won a series in New Zealand in 1937. The rivalry was close for eighty years between 1921-2000, when New Zealand led the head-to-head by 27-26. In the first 17 years of the 21st century, New Zealand compiled a 30-9 record over South Africa, but the appointment of Rassie Erasmus as coach of the Springboks in 2018 resulted in the rivalry reigniting, as South Africa lead the series 7-5 since his appointment.
Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African former professional rugby union player, who played for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship and for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best hookers of his time, both in club and country performances.
Bryce Lawrence is a former professional international rugby union referee from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. He is now the National Referee Manager for the New Zealand Rugby Union.
The 2011 Tri Nations Series was the sixteenth annual Tri Nations rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively nicknamed the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks. It was also the last series in which only these three teams participated. In 2012, Argentina's Pumas joined this competition, which was rebranded as The Rugby Championship. This made this series the last under the Tri Nations name until 2020, when South Africa withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2012 Rugby Championship was the inaugural annual rugby union series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina.
The 2013 Rugby Championship, known as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. New Zealand as the 2012 holders, was trying to keep their 100% winning record in the championship after winning six from six in 2012.
The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
Australia (2nd title)
