Rugby League Tri-Nations

Last updated

Rugby League Tri-Nations
Rugby League Tri-Nations Logo.png
Sport Rugby league
Instituted 1999
Ceased 2006
Replaced by Four Nations
Number of teams3
CountriesFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Last winnersFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia (2006)
Most titlesFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia (3 titles)

The Rugby League Tri-Nations (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby league tournament involving the top three teams in the sport: Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand and is the predecessor of today's Rugby League Four Nations.

Contents

First contested in 1999 (as the Tri-Series), it is a logical continuation of the format originally used for the Rugby League World Cup in which the best teams in the world play in a round-robin tournament leading to the two top teams contesting a final. [1] The World Cup itself is now contested by a much larger number of nations. Four Tri-Nations tournaments were held before 2009 when the competition was replaced by a Four Nations series. [2]

The competition

The tournament has been organised in two different formats. In 1999 each team played the others once, before the top two teams played each other in a final. From 2004 each team has played the others twice before the tournament final. The top two teams are calculated using a league table. Teams receive:

The tournament begins in the middle of October, after the National Rugby League grand final. Australia and New Zealand play each other at this time, and Great Britain enters the tournament after the Super League grand final.

During the tournament, some teams have also played additional Test matches. In the southern hemisphere New Zealand has played Tonga, and in the northern hemisphere Australia and New Zealand have played France.

History

The first Tri-Nations tournament was held in 1999 in Australia and New Zealand. When the Great Britain team only narrowly defeated the Queensland Cup premiers, the Burleigh Bears, it became apparent that they would not pose a serious threat to the other two teams. Accordingly, a very small crowd attended the Test between the Kangaroos and the Lions at Suncorp Stadium. Fearing a similar crowd for the tournament final, organisers moved that match from Sydney to Auckland. With the Rugby League World Cup being held in 2000, the Tri-nations tournament was put on hold indefinitely.

Australia was to dominate international rugby league over the next three years, winning the World Cup, defeating Great Britain 2–1 and 3–0 in Kangaroo Tours in 2001 and 2003, and defeating Great Britain and New Zealand by large margins in the mid-year Tests of 2002 and 2003. There was much criticism of the state of international rugby league in the media at this time. In response, Brisbane Broncos coach, Wayne Bennett, proposed that the Tri-nations tournament be resurrected (albeit without a final). Accordingly, a revamped Tri-nations tournament was played in 2004.

With the exception of the first match between Australia and New Zealand, the 2004 Tri-Nations was held in the United Kingdom. Each of the qualifying games was highly competitive, especially Australia's loss to Great Britain, who finished at the top of the Tri-Nations table. Although Australia soundly defeated Great Britain in the final, the tournament was widely considered to be a success, making a profit of £750,000.

The 2005 Tri-Nations opened with games in both Australia and New Zealand, before moving to the United Kingdom for the remainder of the tournament. Although some of the matches were not as close as the previous tournament, all three teams were in contention for the final by the last group match. New Zealand won the final, defeating Australia 24–0 at Elland Road in Leeds. This was Australia's first defeat in an international test series in 27 years. The 2006 Tri-nations tournament was held in Australia and New Zealand. Controversy erupted as Nathan Fien was determined to be ineligible to play for New Zealand. This resulted in a loss of two competition points that New Zealand gained from their win against Great Britain in Christchurch. Great Britain then went on to beat Australia in Sydney 23–12, their first win in Australia since 1992, leaving the series wide open. However Great Britain went on to suffer heavy defeats in their last two games, leaving Australia and New Zealand to again contest the final. Australia won 16–12, the game having gone to golden point extra time after finishing 12–12 after 80 minutes.

The United Kingdom and France hosted the new Four Nations series in 2009. Great Britain would not compete in the tournament, with England replacing them. The Rugby League International Federation announced on 10 November 2006 that the France would participate in the 2009 tournament. [3]

Results

List of Finals

YearWinnersScoreRunner–upVenueCityAttendance
1999 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 22–20Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Mount Smart Stadium Auckland 21,204
2004 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 44–4Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Elland Road Leeds 39,120
2005 Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 24–0Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Elland Road Leeds 26,534
2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 16–12Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Sydney Football Stadium Sydney 27,325

Aggregate table

TeamPlayedWonDrewLostForAgainstDifference
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1491433424094
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 146172992963
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 14509211307−97

NOTE: Does not include finals matches, only qualifiers.

Statistics

Try scorers

Tries scoredName
9 Darren Lockyer (Aus), Nigel Vagana (NZ)
8 Brent Webb (NZ)
7 Mark Gasnier (Aus)
6 Brian Carney (GB), Luke Rooney (Aus)
5 Matt Cooper (Aus), Anthony Minichiello (Aus), Keith Senior (GB), Clinton Toopi (NZ), Manu Vatuvei (NZ)
4 Greg Inglis (Aus), Stuart Reardon (GB), Paul Johnson (GB), Isoia Soliola (NZ), Brent Tate (Aus),
3 Vinnie Anderson (NZ), Karmichael Hunt (Aus), Mark O'Meley (Aus), Willie Tonga (Aus), Jake Webster (NZ)
2 Nathan Cayless (NZ), Gareth Ellis (GB), Stuart Fielden (GB), Brad Fittler (Aus), Matthew Gidley (Aus), Shontayne Hape (NZ), Sean Long (GB), Willie Mason (Aus), Terry Newton (GB), Mat Rogers (Aus), Wendell Sailor (Aus), Motu Tony (NZ), Paul Wellens (GB)
1 Louis Anderson (NZ), Shaun Berrigan (Aus), Petero Civoniceva (Aus), Alex Chan (NZ), Paul Deacon (GB), David Faiumu (NZ), Andy Farrell (GB), Lee Gilmour (GB), Martin Gleeson (GB), Iestyn Harris (GB), Justin Hodges (Aus), Richard Horne (GB), Andrew Johns (Aus), Matthew Johns (Aus), Stephen Kearney (NZ), Brett Kimmorley (Aus), Matt King (Aus), Ali Lauiti'iti (NZ), Jamie Lowrie (NZ), Francis Meli (NZ), Adrian Morley (GB), Danny McGuire (GB), Robbie Paul (NZ), Jamie Peacock (GB), Frank Pritchard (NZ), Paul Rauhihi (NZ), Robert Richardson (Aus), Jerome Ropati (NZ), Matthew Rua (NZ), Matt Sing (Aus), Jason Smith (Aus), Willie Talau (NZ), Anthony Tupou (Aus), Joe Vagana (NZ), Lesley Vainikolo (NZ), Chev Walker (GB), Paul Whatuira (NZ), Ruben Wiki (NZ), Sonny Bill Williams (NZ)

Venues

StadiumCityMatches playedHighest Attendance
Mt Smart Stadium Auckland 522,540
Elland Road Leeds 239,120
Galpharm Stadium Huddersfield 220,372
JJB Stadium Wigan 225,004
KC Stadium Hull 225,150
Loftus Road London 216,752
Lang Park Brisbane 244,358
Sydney Football Stadium Sydney 227,325
City of Manchester Stadium Manchester 138,572
Jade Stadium Christchurch 117,005
North Harbour Stadium Auckland 119,118
Docklands Stadium Melbourne 130,372
Stadium Australia Sydney 128,255
Westpac Stadium Wellington 116,401

Trivia

See also

Related Research Articles

The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby League World Cup. Unlike previous World Cups that were held over a couple of months, this World Cup was held over the course of three years with teams playing each other on a home and away basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super League (Australia)</span> Australian rugby league competition active in 1997

Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australia and New Zealand for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the pay television rights to rugby league in Australia. After two years of legal battles the competition was played for a single season in 1997 alongside the rival Australian Rugby League (ARL) competition before the two merged in 1998 to form the National Rugby League (NRL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gregan</span> Australian rugby union player

George Musarurwa Gregan AM is a retired Australian rugby union player, and is currently Australia's second most capped international player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Britain national rugby league team</span>

The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions.

The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings. The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament. Only five nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand national rugby league team</span> Sports team representing New Zealand

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black and white, with the dominant colour being black, and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis are currently second in the IRL World Rankings. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that, players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France national rugby league team</span> Represents France in international rugby league

The France national rugby league team represents France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as les Chanticleers or less commonly as les Tricolores. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">England national rugby league team</span> Team representing England in international rugby league

The England national rugby league team represents England in international rugby league since the first international match in 1904. It is controlled by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the governing body for rugby league in England, and participated in the Rugby League World Cup and other test matches.

The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup. Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand played in the final, which was narrowly won by the Kangaroos. Great Britain didn't win a game of the tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Rugby League</span> International governing body of rugby league football

The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. The IRL organises the Rugby League World Cup, the oldest international rugby World Cup, as well as the Women's and Wheelchair equivalent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Vagana</span> Former NZ & Samoa international rugby league footballer

Nigel Faletoese Vagana, also known by the nicknames of "Pablo", and "Chiko", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, as a wing, centre and five-eighth. A New Zealand and Samoa international representative, he retired as the Kiwis' all-time top try-scorer with 19. Vagana played club football in New Zealand for the Warriors, in England for Warrington, and in Australia for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Vagana represented the New Zealand national team 32 times between 1998 and 2006, including playing in the 2000 World Cup. He is also the cousin of Bradford Bulls prop-forward Joe Vagana, and former Silver Ferns netball player Linda Vagana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anzac Test</span> Annual rugby league football test match

The Anzac Test was an annual rugby league football test match played between Australia and New Zealand for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian McClennan</span> NZ rugby league footballer & coach

Brian "Bluey" McClennan is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team and then England's Leeds Rhinos club.

Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed in France in 2000. Unlike other wheelchair sports, people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top-level competition. The sport is also unique in the fact that men and women of any age can play against each other in top-level competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in New Zealand</span>

Rugby union has been played in New Zealand since 1870 and is the most popular sport in the country as well as being its national sport. In a 2023 survey, 75% of respondents said they followed the sport.

The 2006 New Zealand rugby league season was the 99th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the seventh season of the Bartercard Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Auckland Lions won the Cup by defeating the Canterbury Bulls 25–18 in the grand final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby League World Cup</span> International rugby league football tournament

The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was the first World Cup held for any form of rugby football.

The Rugby League Four Nations was a rugby league football tournament run in partnership between Australia, England, New Zealand, and a guest nation which changed with every edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Oceania Cup (rugby league)</span> International rugby league tournament

The 2019 Oceania Cup was the inaugural edition of the Oceania Cup. Contested by six teams, the competition began in June and concluded in November.

The Rugby League Pacific Championship is a rugby league tournament for national teams in Oceania. Its inaugural tournament was in 2019 as the "Oceania Cup".

References

  1. ↑ McCann, Liam (2006). Rugby: Facts, Figures and Fun. UK: AAPPL Artists' and Photographers' Press. p. 80. ISBN   9781904332541.
  2. ↑ RLIF unveils expanded Test schedule @ NRL.com
  3. ↑ "TRI-NATIONS SET FOR EXPANSION: Sporting Life - Rugby League | Rugby League Scores, Super League News, 2007 Super League fixtures, Ian Millward Column, engage Super League, News, Results, Live Scores, Fixtures, Standings". Archived from the original on 14 December 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.