2002 Tri Nations Series

2002 Tri Nations Series

Final positions
Champions	New Zealand (4th title)
Bledisloe Cup	Australia
Mandela Challenge Plate	South Africa
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Tries scored	32 (5.33 per match)
Attendance	306,764 (51,127 per match)
← 2001 2003 →

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.

South Africa won their first Mandela Challenge Plate in a one-off home test against Australia. Australia made it 5 wins in a row in the Bledisloe Cup, having taken it from New Zealand in 1998. As of 2022, this was the last time that Australia won the Bledisloe Cup.

Table

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Try bonus	Losing bonus	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	New Zealand	4	3	0	1	97	65	+32	2	1	15
2	Australia	4	2	0	2	91	86	+5	1	2	11
3	South Africa	4	1	0	3	103	140	−37	2	1	7

Results

Round 1

13 July 2002 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	12–6	Australia (1 BP)
Pen: Mehrtens (4)		Pen: Burke (2)

Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 36,500 [1] Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

FB 15 Christian Cullen RW 14 Doug Howlett OC 13 Mark Robinson IC 12 Aaron Mauger LW 11 Caleb Ralph FH 10 Andrew Mehrtens SH 9 Justin Marshall N8 8 Scott Robertson OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Reuben Thorne (c) RL 5 Simon Maling LL 4 Chris Jack TP 3 Greg Somerville HK 2 Mark Hammett LP 1 Dave Hewett Replacements: HK 16 Tom Willis PR 17 Joe McDonnell LK 18 Royce Willis LF 19 Sam Broomhall SH 20 Byron Kelleher FH 21 Dan Carter FB 22 Ben Blair Coach: John Mitchell

FB 15 Chris Latham RW 14 Ben Tune OC 13 Matt Burke IC 12 Daniel Herbert LW 11 Stirling Mortlock FH 10 Stephen Larkham SH 9 George Gregan (c) N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 Justin Harrison LL 4 Nathan Sharpe TP 3 Patricio Noriega HK 2 Jeremy Paul LP 1 Bill Young Replacements: HK 16 Brendan Cannon PR 17 Ben Darwin LK 18 Matt Cockbain N8 19 David Lyons SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 Elton Flatley FB 22 Mat Rogers Coach: Eddie Jones

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Round 2

20 July 2002 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

(1 BP) New Zealand	41–20	South Africa
Try: Hammett Howlett Marshall Robertson Thorne Con: Mehrtens (2) Pen: Mehrtens (3) Drop: Mehrtens		Try: Greeff Joubert Con: Pretorius (2) Pen: Pretorius Drop: Greeff

Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 37,693 [2] Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

FB 15 Christian Cullen RW 14 Doug Howlett OC 13 Mark Robinson IC 12 Aaron Mauger LW 11 Caleb Ralph FH 10 Andrew Mehrtens SH 9 Justin Marshall N8 8 Scott Robertson OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Reuben Thorne (c) RL 5 Simon Maling LL 4 Chris Jack TP 3 Greg Somerville HK 2 Mark Hammett LP 1 Dave Hewett Replacements: HK 16 Tom Willis PR 17 Joe McDonnell LK 18 Royce Willis LF 19 Sam Broomhall SH 20 Byron Kelleher CE 21 Tana Umaga WG 22 Jonah Lomu Coach: John Mitchell

FB 15 Werner Greeff RW 14 Stefan Terblanche OC 13 Marius Joubert IC 12 De Wet Barry LW 11 Dean Hall FH 10 André Pretorius SH 9 Bolla Conradie N8 8 Bobby Skinstad BF 7 Joe van Niekerk OF 6 Corné Krige (c) RL 5 Jannes Labuschagne LL 4 Victor Matfield TP 3 Willie Meyer HK 2 James Dalton LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka Replacements: PR 16 Ollie le Roux PR 17 Faan Rautenbach LK 18 AJ Venter FL 19 Hendro Scholtz SH 20 Neil de Kock CE 21 Adrian Jacobs WG 22 Breyton Paulse Coach: Rudolf Straeuli

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Round 3

27 July 2002 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

(1 BP) Australia	38–27	South Africa (1 BP)
Try: Latham (2) Tune Mortlock Con: Burke (3) Pen: Burke (3) Mortlock		Try: Joubert (2) Skinstad Russell Con: Pretorius (2) Pen: Pretorius

The Gabba, Brisbane Attendance: 37,528 [3] Referee: Steve Lander (England)

FB 15 Chris Latham RW 14 Ben Tune OC 13 Matt Burke IC 12 Daniel Herbert LW 11 Stirling Mortlock FH 10 Stephen Larkham SH 9 George Gregan (c) N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 Justin Harrison LL 4 Nathan Sharpe TP 3 Patricio Noriega HK 2 Jeremy Paul LP 1 Bill Young Replacements: HK 16 Brendan Cannon PR 17 Ben Darwin LK 18 Matt Cockbain N8 19 David Lyons SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 Elton Flatley FB 22 Mat Rogers Coach: Eddie Jones

FB 15 Werner Greeff RW 14 Stefan Terblanche OC 13 Marius Joubert IC 12 De Wet Barry LW 11 Breyton Paulse FH 10 André Pretorius SH 9 Bolla Conradie N8 8 Bobby Skinstad BF 7 Joe van Niekerk OF 6 Corné Krige (c) RL 5 Jannes Labuschagne LL 4 Victor Matfield TP 3 Faan Rautenbach HK 2 James Dalton LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka Replacements: HK 16 Delarey du Preez PR 17 Ollie le Roux LK 18 AJ Venter FL 19 Hendro Scholtz SH 20 Neil de Kock CE 21 Adrian Jacobs WG 22 Brent Russell Coach: Rudolf Straeuli

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Round 4

3 August 2002 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Australia	16–14	New Zealand (1 BP)
Try: Rogers Sharpe Pen: Burke (2)		Try: McCaw Pen: Mehrtens (3)

Stadium Australia, Sydney Attendance: 79,543 [4] Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

FB 15 Chris Latham RW 14 Ben Tune OC 13 Matt Burke IC 12 Daniel Herbert LW 11 Stirling Mortlock FH 10 Stephen Larkham SH 9 George Gregan (c) N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 Justin Harrison LL 4 Nathan Sharpe TP 3 Patricio Noriega HK 2 Jeremy Paul LP 1 Bill Young Replacements: HK 16 Brendan Cannon PR 17 Ben Darwin LK 18 Matt Cockbain N8 19 David Lyons SH 20 Chris Whitaker FH 21 Elton Flatley FB 22 Mat Rogers Coach: Eddie Jones

FB 15 Christian Cullen RW 14 Doug Howlett OC 13 Tana Umaga IC 12 Aaron Mauger LW 11 Caleb Ralph FH 10 Andrew Mehrtens SH 9 Justin Marshall N8 8 Scott Robertson OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Reuben Thorne (c) RL 5 Simon Maling LL 4 Chris Jack TP 3 Greg Somerville HK 2 Tom Willis LP 1 Dave Hewett Replacements: HK 16 Andrew Hore PR 17 Joe McDonnell FL 18 Marty Holah LF 19 Sam Broomhall SH 20 Byron Kelleher CE 21 Daryl Gibson FB 22 Leon MacDonald Coach: John Mitchell

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Round 5

10 August 2002 15:00 SAST (UTC+02)

(1 BP) South Africa	23–30	New Zealand (1 BP)
Try: De Kock 2' Pretorius 32' Con: Pretorius (2) 3', 33' Pen: Pretorius (2) 27', 52' Drop: Pretorius 57'		Try: MacDonald 4' Penalty try 17' Howlett 36' Mauger 80' Con: Mehrtens (2) 18', 80+1' Pen: Mehrtens (2) 54', 70'

Kings Park Stadium, Durban Attendance: 52,500 [5] Referee: Dave McHugh (Ireland)

FB 15 Werner Greeff RW 14 Breyton Paulse OC 13 Marius Joubert IC 12 De Wet Barry LW 11 Dean Hall FH 10 André Pretorius SH 9 Neil de Kock N8 8 Bobby Skinstad BF 7 Joe van Niekerk OF 6 Corné Krige (c) RL 5 Jannes Labuschagne LL 4 AJ Venter TP 3 Willie Meyer HK 2 James Dalton LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka Replacements: PR 16 Ollie le Roux PR 17 Faan Rautenbach LK 18 Victor Matfield FL 19 Hendro Scholtz SH 20 Bolla Conradie CE 21 Adrian Jacobs WG 22 Brent Russell Coach: Rudolf Straeuli

FB 15 Leon MacDonald RW 14 Doug Howlett OC 13 Tana Umaga IC 12 Aaron Mauger LW 11 Caleb Ralph FH 10 Andrew Mehrtens SH 9 Justin Marshall N8 8 Scott Robertson OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Reuben Thorne (c) RL 5 Simon Maling LL 4 Chris Jack TP 3 Greg Somerville HK 2 Tom Willis LP 1 Dave Hewett Replacements: HK 16 Mark Hammett PR 17 Joe McDonnell FL 18 Sam Broomhall LF 19 Marty Holah SH 20 Byron Kelleher CE 21 Daryl Gibson WG 22 Jonah Lomu Coach: John Mitchell

Referee McHugh had to be replaced in the 43rd minute after a drunk South African fan, Pieter van Zyl, ran onto the pitch and tackled him, leaving McHugh with a dislocated shoulder and having to be carried off on a stretcher. He was replaced by Chris White. ^[6]

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Round 6

17 August 2002 15:00 SAST (UTC+02)

(1 BP) South Africa	33–31	Australia (1 BP)
Try: Paulse (2) Greeff Russell Van Niekerk Con: Greeff (4)		Try: Kefu Cannon Rogers Con: Burke (2) Pen: Burke (3) Drop: Gregan

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg Attendance: 63,000 [7] Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

FB 15 Werner Greeff RW 14 Breyton Paulse OC 13 Marius Joubert IC 12 De Wet Barry LW 11 Dean Hall FH 10 Brent Russell SH 9 Neil de Kock N8 8 Bobby Skinstad BF 7 Joe van Niekerk OF 6 Corné Krige (c) RL 5 AJ Venter LL 4 Jannes Labuschagne TP 3 Willie Meyer HK 2 James Dalton LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka Coach: Rudolf Straeuli

FB 15 Chris Latham RW 14 Ben Tune OC 13 Matt Burke IC 12 Daniel Herbert LW 11 Stirling Mortlock FH 10 Stephen Larkham SH 9 George Gregan (c) N8 8 Toutai Kefu OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Owen Finegan RL 5 Justin Harrison LL 4 Nathan Sharpe TP 3 Ben Darwin HK 2 Jeremy Paul LP 1 Bill Young Coach: Eddie Jones

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References

1. "New Zealand 12 - 6 Australia". ESPN.com.
2. "New Zealand 41 - 20 South Africa". ESPN.com.
3. "Australia 38 - 27 South Africa". ESPN.com.
4. "Australia 16 - 14 New Zealand". ESPN.com.
5. "South Africa 23 - 30 New Zealand". ESPN.com.
6. "Referee hurt in fan attack". 10 August 2002.
7. "South Africa 33 - 31 Australia". ESPN.com.

External links

• Tri Nations at Rugby.com.au