Tri Nations Rugby

The Tri Nations is an annual rugby union tournament played between the southern hemisphere heavyweights of the South African Springboks, Australian Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks. Given that these three teams have dominated the world rankings since the official ranking system was introduced in 2003 (and prior to that, unofficially), the tri nations rugby tournament may well qualify as the toughest international rugby competition in the world!

Tri Nations Rugby: competition format

The Tri Nations competition, which was launched in 1996, is played in a round-robin format, with each team playing the others on a home and away basis during the southern hemisphere season. Originally each team played each of the others twice, but in 2006 this was expanded to three times (with the exception of 2007 in which the competition reverted to a four-match format to allow teams more preparation time for the world cup).

There has been much speculation in recent years about the possible inclusion of the Argentina Pumas or even a Pacific Island team in an expanded southern hemisphere competition, which supporters feel will re-invigorate the tournament; however to date there is still no clear indication of anything of this nature taking place.

Tri Nations scoring system

The Tri Nations scoring system is the same as most other tournaments these days: teams are awarded four points on the table for a win, two for a draw, and none for a loss. In addition, teams are awarded bonus points for scoring four or more tries in a match, and for losing by seven points or less. From this, it is obvious that consistency is very important, as long as it's not consistently losing!

Tri Nations past winners

The Tri Nations rugby tournament has been dominated by the New Zealand All Blacks since its inception - they have won it nine times, while South Africa and Australia have each won it twice (South Africa in 1998 and 2004 and Australia in 2000 and 2001).

Tri Nations 2009

The 2009 Tri Nations kicks off on 18 July, with New Zealand hosting the Wallabies in Auckland. Both the Wallabies and Springboks will be desperate to try and dislodge the All Blacks as reigning champions. Can they do it? Follow all the action on the unofficial Tri Nations Rugby blog!