The '2006
Tri Nations Series', an annual
rugby union competition between the national teams of
Australia,
New Zealand and
South Africa, marked the tenth anniversary of the original competition. The New Zealand
All Blacks won the competition on
19 August,
2006, despite three rounds remaining, leaving the All Blacks with 21 consecutive home wins.
[1] The competition was organised by
SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby federations.
This year, the competition ran from
July 8 to
September 9 due to the extension of the tournament. For the first time, each team will play the others three times. This was the result of a new television deal between
SANZAR and broadcasters in the
SANZAR countries and the
United Kingdom.
[2] Previously, each team played the others twice.
The All Blacks managed to win all three matches over Australia, as well as winning two of the three matches against South Africa, allowing the All Blacks to retain the
Bledisloe Cup and regain the
Freedom Cup for the first time. Australia managed to regain the
Mandela Challenge Plate after winning their two home tests against South Africa.
Standings
| Place | Nation | Games | Points | Bonus
points | Table
points |
|---|
| played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | difference |
|---|
| 1 | | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 179 | 112 | +67 | 3 | '23' |
| 2 | | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 133 | 121 | +12 | 3 | '11' |
| 3 | | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 106 | 185 | -79 | 1 | '9' |
Format
As in past competitions, points were earned on the following schedule:
★ 4 points for a win
★ 2 points for a draw
★ 0 points for a loss
★ 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries or more, win or lose
★ 1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less
The run-up
===
Australia===
At the end of 2005, the
Wallabies looked to be in decline after having just ended an all-time record Test losing streak of seven. The streak led to the sacking of coach
Eddie Jones and his replacement by
John Connolly. The
2006 mid-year Tests saw improvement with two wins over
England and a win over
Ireland. Ireland's captain
Brian O'Driscoll - who played against both the Wallabies and
All Blacks in Ireland's mid-year Tests - was more impressed by the Wallabies, and tipped them as favourites over the All Blacks.
[3]
===
New Zealand===
Going into the competition, the All Blacks, notwithstanding O'Driscoll's assessment, were the clear favourites as the top-ranked team in the world, coming off a year in 2005 in which they only lost one Test (their away fixture against
South Africa in the
2005 Tri Nations) and an undefeated run through the 2006 mid-year Tests. However, All Blacks coach
Graham Henry used the mid-year Tests to experiment with his squad. They had to come back in the last 20 minutes to win their first Test against Ireland, and had to survive a last-minute push by
Argentina at
Vélez Sársfield. Despite these close victories amidst much New Zealand complacency, the All Blacks do possess a strong, co-ordinated forward pack, quality playmakers, explosive backs and blistering pace out wide. Their most important asset is arguably their depth in all positions.
Before the first test, Australian television channel, the
Seven Network, aired an advertisement where the All Blacks performed the
Ka Mate haka with digitally inserted handbags, a reference to an incident where
Tana Umaga hit a Hurricane team-mate over the head with a woman's handbag, breaking her cellular phone, see
2006 rugby union handbag controversy. This advertisement was seen by some as offensive to both Maori and the All Blacks. The All Blacks performed the new Kapa o Pango haka instead of the Ka Mate in Christchurch for the first time against Australia. Some observers found gestures used in this haka
to be offensive.
===
South Africa===
Of the three teams in the competition, the Springboks entered with the most questions. The selection policy of coach
Jake White was controversial in 2005, with White choosing to primarily stay with veterans of South Africa's victorious
2004 Tri Nations squad. His choices eventually panned out, with the Boks only narrowly losing out to the All Blacks in the 2005 Tri Nations.
White largely stayed with his veterans in the 2006 mid-year Tests, which led to even more controversy among Boks supporters. In the meantime, several key Boks players were unavailable during the mid-year Tests due to injury, among them
André Pretorius and
Bakkies Botha. The Boks won two Tests over
Scotland, but suffered a huge blow in the second Test when 2004 World Player of the Year
Schalk Burger suffered a career-threatening neck injury. Recent articles indicated that Schalk Burger had a successful operation to his neck and he may play again next year. They went on to lose to
France at
Newlands, their first home loss since
2003. In that Test, they lost two key backs,
Jean de Villiers and
Bryan Habana, to rib injuries. De Villiers was initially expected to be out for the entire Tri Nations, but Habana recovered in time for the series opener.
[4] (In the end, de Villiers would return for South Africa's home leg of the series.) As for other players, Pretorius would be out for at least the first two Boks matches, while Botha was out for the entire series.
[5] Partly due to the injuries, White named four newcomers to his Tri Nations squad.
5
During the lead-in to the Tri Nations, White also caused considerable controversy by publicly seeking an extension to his contract through 2009, even after the loss to France.
[6] Also, he was heavily criticised for his refusal to select flanker
Luke Watson, arguably the country's form player, even after the loss of Burger. The criticism became more intense after the Boks' hammering in their Tri Nations opener.
[7][8]
Fixtures and results
''Kickoff times are local''
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
★ All Blacks retain
Bledisloe Cup
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
References
1. New Zealand Defeats Australia to Win Tri-Nations Rugby Title
2. SANZAR agree new broadcast rights deal
3. O'Driscoll tips Wallabies over NZ
4. Injured Boks duo miss Tri-Nations
5. Springboks call Bosman into squad
6. 'White must go' says former Boks
7. Tyibilika is a 'transformation' player
8. Pick Watson or else...
External links
★
All Blacks Tri Nations website
★
Springboks Tri Nations website
★
Wallabies Tri Nations website
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