Springboks clinch 2009 Tri Nations

The Springboks squeezed out another win over the All Blacks on Saturday in an "epic" (in the words of John Smit) test match in Hamilton, to clinch the 2009 Tri Nations tournament, only the third time in the tournament's history that they've managed to win it. It was a must-win game for the All Blacks to have any chance of an unlikely come-from-behind steal of the cup, but they had to win and prevent the Springboks from getting any points on the log to stand a chance. Satisfyingly for Springbok fans, their team went out with real belief and commitment to not just defend their position on the points table, but to win the game - which they did by 32 points to 29.

Springbok brilliance

The Springbok victory was built on their usual pressure game, coupled with a few moments of individual brilliance to score:

• Francois "bazooka" Steyn: we've come to expect long-range kicks from the audacious fullback, but three 50m-plus kicks in a match? Must be some kind of record! And he missed an equally long drop-goal attempt in the second half - but not by all that much!


• Fourie "sniper" du Preez: his try was brilliant. First he put up the kick, then challenged for the catch, doing enough to disrupt Rokocoko's catch. Bakkies Botha then carried strongly to within a couple metres of the line, only for Du Preez to once again get his hands on the ball for a quick snipe to claim the try.


• Jean "interceptor" de Villiers: As he's done so often in the past, he read the All Blacks move to perfection for an easy steal and run in to score under the posts.

Apart from the significance of the match in the context of this year's Tri Nations tournament, it was also a special moment for a couple of other reasons:

• It was the third Springbok victory in a row over the All Blacks - when last did that happen?


• As long as he's been playing for the Springboks, this was John Smit's first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand! Lately there's been a lot of hype about how the Springboks are the world's best team yadda yadda, but let's not forget the All Blacks have had the edge over them in the last few years, particularly in the Tri Nations.

All Blacks not too shabby

Although the All Blacks couldn't quite do enough to win the match, they played their part in a gripping encounter, looking particularly dangerous with the ball in hand. They had a fair amount of success spreading it wide to outflank the Springbok defence (which, it must be said, was awesome on the day), and won the second half. Unfortunately they were once again let down by a misfiring lineout which took away a lot of their momentum, or the result could have been different. Although at the moment they're not quite the force they have been for so long, this is still an awesome team that'll beat most teams any day of the week.

Tri Nations Results

Here is a summary of Tri Nations results between 1996 and 2008. As they say in financial circles, "past performance is no guarantee of future results" - but it sure helps!

Year	Winner	Played	Matches won	Bonus points
1996	All Blacks	4	4	1
1997	All Blacks	4	4	2
1998	Springboks	4	4	1
1999	All Blacks	4	3	0
2000	Wallabies	4	3	2
2001	Wallabies	4	2	1
2002	All Blacks	4	3	3
2003	All Blacks	4	4	2
2004	Springboks	4	2	3
2005	All Blacks	4	3	3
2006	All Blacks	6	5	3
2007	All Blacks	4	3	1
2008	All Blacks	6	4	3

In summary, New Zealand have won the Tri Nations nine times, South Africa twice, and Australia twice. Statistically, the All Blacks have won 39 of their 56 games (70%), followed by the Wallabies with 23 wins (41%) and a draw, and the Springboks with 21 wins (38%) and a draw.

From this it's obvious that the tournament has been dominated by one team: the All Blacks. Notwithstanding their consistently poor performance in World Cups, these results - against what are widely regarded as the world's other two best teams - clearly demonstrate their position at the top of the tree in world rugby.

What it takes to win

To win the tournament teams generally need to win at least one more than half their games (in other words four wins in a six-match format; three in a four-match format). Draws and bonus points (for scoring four or more tries in a game, or losing by seven points or less) also make a difference though, and it's possible to win the tournament having only won 50% of matches - the Springboks and Wallabies have both managed this feat. No team has yet managed to win the tournament with less than a 50% win ratio, although it's probably mathematically possible.

Home ground advantage

Looking back at all Tri Nations results between 1996 and 2008, we see that almost 70% of matches are won by the home team. No doubt this has something to do with travel arrangements, but also that teams, knowing they have to win at least half their matches, target these home fixtures as must-win games.

Results for Tri Nations 2009?

One wonders how the 2009 tournament will pan out. The Wallabies are looking strong under coach Robbie Deans; the Springboks will be confident after a series win over the British Lions, but as usual are mired in controversy; the All Blacks are in a rebuilding phase and struggled against a touring French team recently. Any one of the teams is capable of winning it, but the smart money has got to be on New Zealand to make it five in a row.