# 2005 Tri Nations Series

The 2005 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the tenth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby federations. This was the last year in which the Tri Nations was contested in its original double round-robin format, with each team playing the others twice.
New Zealand claimed the title with a 31–27 win over South Africa in the penultimate week of the competition; New Zealand's final opponents, Australia, were already unable to catch them and the result put New Zealand above South Africa with the Springboks having played all their matches. The All Blacks also retained the Bledisloe Cup with victory over Australia in both fixtures. The Mandela Challenge Plate between Australia and South Africa was contested outside the Tri Nations.

## Synopsis

The All Blacks were clear favourites going in, having come off a sweep of the British & Irish Lions. The Springboks entered with many questions, most dealing with the player selections made by coach Jake White. Many in South Africa questioned White's selections after a loss to Australia in the first leg of the Mandela Plate. However, the Springboks won the second leg to retain the Mandela Plate. The Wallabies entered with promise, but had been hurt by the loss of talismanic fly-half Stephen Larkham to a shoulder injury before the series.
The series began with the South Africa leg. In the opener, the Springboks came from behind to defeat the Wallabies at Loftus Versfeld. The 22–16 margin gave the Wallabies the consolation of a bonus point. The following week at Newlands, the Boks handed the All Blacks what would prove to be their only loss in 2005 by the identical score.
When the series moved to Australia, the All Blacks ensured themselves of retaining the Bledisloe Cup by a comprehensive 30–13 win over the Wallabies. However, they failed to earn a bonus point. The Springboks kept pace with the All Blacks by nipping Australia the following week 22–19.
The series decider proved to be the first match of the New Zealand leg, pitting the All Blacks and Springboks. In a closely fought match, a late try by Keven Mealamu gave the All Blacks both the win and a key bonus point. They would secure the trophy the next week with a bonus-point win over the Wallabies.

## The aftermath
### New Zealand

The All Blacks emerged from the Tri Nations as clearly the best team in the world in 2005. They had enough depth to shrug off what would have been a devastating loss to most other national teams—an injury to arguably their best player, fly-half Dan Carter during the win in Sydney, that kept him out of the tests at home against the Springboks and the Wallabies. The All Blacks would punctuate their season with a "Grand Slam" over all four Home Nations on their November tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Carter would come back for the Grand Slam tour, and was selected as 2005 World Player of the Year by the International Rugby Board.

### South Africa

As for the Springboks, they showed themselves to be a close second to the All Blacks, silencing White's critics in the process. For the second straight year, the Tri Nations was the international coming-out party for a young Springboks star. In 2004, Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers and Marius Joubert emerged as major stars, with Burger going on to be named the IRB World Player of the Year. This year, Bryan Habana established himself as one of the world's most dangerous wings, and was named a finalist for World Player of the Year.

### Australia

The Wallabies fought bravely throughout the series, but were ultimately outmanned. The competition exposed major weaknesses in their front row. They would spiral downward to their longest Test losing streak since 1969, which would cost head coach Eddie Jones his job.

## 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

## Table

| Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Nation | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Bonus points | Table points |
| New Zealand | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 111 | 86 | +25 | 3 | 15 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 93 | 82 | +11 | 1 | 13 |
| Australia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 72 | 108 | −36 | 3 | 3 |

## Results
### Round 1

* 30 July 2005 15:00 SAST (UTC+02)
| South Africa | 22–16 | Australia (1 BP) |
| Try: Paulse Con: Montgomery Pen: Montgomery (3) Drop: Montgomery Pretorius | | Try: Smith Con: Giteau Pen: Giteau (3) |
* Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Attendance: 53,056 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
| FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery |
| RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse |
| OC | 13 | Jaque Fourie |
| IC | 12 | Jean de Villiers |
| LW | 11 | Bryan Habana |
| FH | 10 | André Pretorius |
| SH | 9 | Fourie du Preez |
| N8 | 8 | Jacques Cronjé |
| BF | 7 | Juan Smith |
| OF | 6 | Joe van Niekerk |
| RL | 5 | Victor Matfield |
| LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha |
| TP | 3 | CJ van der Linde |
| HK | 2 | John Smit (c) |
| LP | 1 | Gurthrö Steenkamp |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Gary Botha |
| PR | 17 | Lawrence Sephaka |
| LK | 18 | Albert van den Berg |
| FL | 19 | Schalk Burger |
| SH | 20 | Ricky Januarie |
| CE | 21 | Wayne Julies |
| FB | 22 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
| Coach: ||
| Jake White ||
| FB | 15 | Chris Latham |
| RW | 14 | Wendell Sailor |
| OC | 13 | Morgan Turinui |
| IC | 12 | Matt Giteau |
| LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri |
| FH | 10 | Stephen Larkham |
| SH | 9 | George Gregan (c) |
| N8 | 8 | David Lyons |
| OF | 7 | George Smith |
| BF | 6 | John Roe |
| RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe |
| LL | 4 | Daniel Vickerman |
| TP | 3 | Matt Dunning |
| HK | 2 | Jeremy Paul |
| LP | 1 | Bill Young |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Stephen Moore |
| PR | 17 | Al Baxter |
| LK | 18 | Mark Chisholm |
| FL | 19 | Phil Waugh |
| SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker |
| CE | 21 | Stirling Mortlock |
| FB | 22 | Drew Mitchell |
| Coach: ||
| Eddie Jones ||

### Round 2

* 6 August 2005 15:00 SAST (UTC+02)
| South Africa | 22–16 | New Zealand (1 BP) |
| Try: De Villiers Con: Montgomery Pen: Montgomery (4) Drop: Pretorius | | Try: Gear Con: Carter Pen: Carter (3) |
* Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 49,118 Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)
| FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery |
| RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse |
| OC | 13 | Jaque Fourie |
| IC | 12 | Jean de Villiers |
| LW | 11 | Bryan Habana |
| FH | 10 | André Pretorius |
| SH | 9 | Ricky Januarie |
| N8 | 8 | Joe van Niekerk |
| BF | 7 | Juan Smith |
| OF | 6 | Schalk Burger |
| RL | 5 | Victor Matfield |
| LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha |
| TP | 3 | CJ van der Linde |
| HK | 2 | John Smit (c) |
| LP | 1 | Os du Randt |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange |
| PR | 17 | Gurthrö Steenkamp |
| LK | 18 | Albert van den Berg |
| N8 | 19 | Jacques Cronjé |
| SH | 20 | Fourie du Preez |
| CE | 21 | Wayne Julies |
| FB | 22 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
| Coach: ||
| Jake White ||
| FB | 15 | Leon MacDonald |
| RW | 14 | Rico Gear |
| OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c) |
| IC | 12 | Aaron Mauger |
| LW | 11 | Mils Muliaina |
| FH | 10 | Dan Carter |
| SH | 9 | Byron Kelleher |
| N8 | 8 | Rodney So'oialo |
| OF | 7 | Richie McCaw |
| BF | 6 | Jerry Collins |
| RL | 5 | Ali Williams |
| LL | 4 | Chris Jack |
| TP | 3 | Carl Hayman |
| HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu |
| LP | 1 | Tony Woodcock |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Derren Witcombe |
| PR | 17 | Greg Somerville |
| LK | 18 | James Ryan |
| FL | 19 | Marty Holah |
| SH | 20 | Piri Weepu |
| FH | 21 | Luke McAlister |
| WG | 22 | Joe Rokocoko |
| Coach: ||
| Graham Henry ||

### Round 3

* 13 August 2005 20:00 AEST (UTC+10)
| Australia | 13–30 | New Zealand |
| Try: Mitchell Con: Giteau Pen: Giteau (2) | | Try: McCaw Rokocoko Weepu Con: Carter (2) McAlister Pen: Carter (3) |
* Stadium Australia, Sydney Attendance: 83,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
| FB | 15 | Drew Mitchell |
| RW | 14 | Mark Gerrard |
| OC | 13 | Stirling Mortlock |
| IC | 12 | Morgan Turinui |
| LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri |
| FH | 10 | Matt Giteau |
| SH | 9 | George Gregan (c) |
| N8 | 8 | David Lyons |
| OF | 7 | George Smith |
| BF | 6 | John Roe |
| RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe |
| LL | 4 | Daniel Vickerman |
| TP | 3 | Al Baxter |
| HK | 2 | Jeremy Paul |
| LP | 1 | Bill Young |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Brendan Cannon |
| PR | 17 | Matt Dunning |
| LK | 18 | Mark Chisholm |
| FL | 19 | Phil Waugh |
| SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker |
| FH | 21 | Elton Flatley |
| CE | 22 | Clyde Rathbone |
| Coach: ||
| Eddie Jones ||
| FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina |
| RW | 14 | Rico Gear |
| OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c) |
| IC | 12 | Aaron Mauger |
| LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko |
| FH | 10 | Dan Carter |
| SH | 9 | Piri Weepu |
| N8 | 8 | Rodney So'oialo |
| OF | 7 | Richie McCaw |
| BF | 6 | Jerry Collins |
| RL | 5 | Ali Williams |
| LL | 4 | Chris Jack |
| TP | 3 | Carl Hayman |
| HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu |
| LP | 1 | Tony Woodcock |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Derren Witcombe |
| PR | 17 | Greg Somerville |
| LK | 18 | James Ryan |
| FL | 19 | Marty Holah |
| SH | 20 | Kevin Senio |
| FH | 21 | Luke McAlister |
| FB | 22 | Leon MacDonald |
| Coach: ||
| Graham Henry ||

### Round 4

* 20 August 2005 18:00 AWST (UTC+08)
| (1 BP) Australia | 19–22 | South Africa |
| Try: Rathbone Con: Rogers Pen: Rogers (3) Giteau | | Try: Habana (2) Pen: Montgomery (3) Drop: Montgomery |
* Subiaco Oval, Perth Attendance: 43,278 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
| FB | 15 | Drew Mitchell |
| RW | 14 | Mat Rogers |
| OC | 13 | Clyde Rathbone |
| IC | 12 | Morgan Turinui |
| LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri |
| FH | 10 | Matt Giteau |
| SH | 9 | George Gregan (c) |
| N8 | 8 | David Lyons |
| OF | 7 | Phil Waugh |
| BF | 6 | Rocky Elsom |
| RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe |
| LL | 4 | Daniel Vickerman |
| TP | 3 | Al Baxter |
| HK | 2 | Brendan Cannon |
| LP | 1 | Bill Young |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Stephen Moore |
| PR | 17 | Matt Dunning |
| LK | 18 | Mark Chisholm |
| N8 | 19 | John Roe |
| FL | 20 | George Smith |
| SH | 21 | Chris Whitaker |
| WG | 22 | Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| Coach: ||
| Eddie Jones ||
| FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery |
| RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse |
| OC | 13 | Jaque Fourie |
| IC | 12 | Jean de Villiers |
| LW | 11 | Bryan Habana |
| FH | 10 | André Pretorius |
| SH | 9 | Ricky Januarie |
| N8 | 8 | Joe van Niekerk |
| BF | 7 | Juan Smith |
| OF | 6 | Schalk Burger |
| RL | 5 | Victor Matfield |
| LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha |
| TP | 3 | CJ van der Linde |
| HK | 2 | John Smit (c) |
| LP | 1 | Os du Randt |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange |
| PR | 17 | Gurthrö Steenkamp |
| LK | 18 | Albert van den Berg |
| N8 | 19 | Jacques Cronjé |
| SH | 20 | Fourie du Preez |
| CE | 21 | Wayne Julies |
| FB | 22 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
| Coach: ||
| Jake White ||

### Round 5

* 27 August 2005 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)
| (1 BP) New Zealand | 31–27 | South Africa (1 BP) |
| Try: MacDonald Mealamu Rokocoko (2) Con: MacDonald (3) McAlister Pen: Leon MacDonald | | Try: Fourie Habana Januarie Con: Montgomery (3) Pen: Montgomery (2) |
* Carisbrook, Dunedin Attendance: 29,500 Referee: Joël Jutge (France)
| FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina |
| RW | 14 | Rico Gear |
| OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c) |
| IC | 12 | Aaron Mauger |
| LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko |
| FH | 10 | Leon MacDonald |
| SH | 9 | Piri Weepu |
| N8 | 8 | Rodney So'oialo |
| OF | 7 | Richie McCaw |
| BF | 6 | Jerry Collins |
| RL | 5 | Ali Williams |
| LL | 4 | Chris Jack |
| TP | 3 | Carl Hayman |
| HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu |
| LP | 1 | Tony Woodcock |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Derren Witcombe |
| PR | 17 | Greg Somerville |
| LK | 18 | James Ryan |
| FL | 19 | Sione Lauaki |
| SH | 20 | Kevin Senio |
| FH | 21 | Luke McAlister |
| FB | 22 | Doug Howlett |
| Coach: ||
| Graham Henry ||
| FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery |
| RW | 14 | Jean de Villiers |
| OC | 13 | Jaque Fourie |
| IC | 12 | De Wet Barry |
| LW | 11 | Bryan Habana |
| FH | 10 | André Pretorius |
| SH | 9 | Ricky Januarie |
| N8 | 8 | Joe van Niekerk |
| BF | 7 | Juan Smith |
| OF | 6 | Schalk Burger |
| RL | 5 | Victor Matfield |
| LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha |
| TP | 3 | CJ van der Linde |
| HK | 2 | John Smit (c) |
| LP | 1 | Os du Randt |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange |
| PR | 17 | Eddie Andrews |
| LK | 18 | Albert van den Berg |
| N8 | 19 | Jacques Cronjé |
| SH | 20 | Fourie du Preez |
| FB | 21 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen |
| CE | 22 | Marius Joubert |
| Coach: ||
| Jake White ||

### Round 6

* 3 September 2005 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)
| (1 BP) New Zealand | 34–24 | Australia (1 BP) |
| Try: Howlett (3) McCaw Con: MacDonald Pen: MacDonald McAlister (3) | | Try: Chisholm Gerrard Johansson Tuqiri Con: Rogers (2) |
* Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Chris White (England)
| FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina |
| RW | 14 | Doug Howlett |
| OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c) |
| IC | 12 | Aaron Mauger |
| LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko |
| FH | 10 | Leon MacDonald |
| SH | 9 | Piri Weepu |
| N8 | 8 | Rodney So'oialo |
| OF | 7 | Richie McCaw |
| BF | 6 | Sione Lauaki |
| RL | 5 | Ali Williams |
| LL | 4 | Chris Jack |
| TP | 3 | Carl Hayman |
| HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu |
| LP | 1 | Tony Woodcock |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Derren Witcombe |
| PR | 17 | Greg Somerville |
| LK | 18 | James Ryan |
| FL | 19 | Marty Holah |
| SH | 20 | Kevin Senio |
| FH | 21 | Luke McAlister |
| CE | 22 | Conrad Smith |
| Coach: ||
| Graham Henry ||
| FB | 15 | Drew Mitchell |
| RW | 14 | Mark Gerrard |
| OC | 13 | Clyde Rathbone |
| IC | 12 | Morgan Turinui |
| LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri |
| FH | 10 | Mat Rogers |
| SH | 9 | George Gregan (c) |
| N8 | 8 | George Smith |
| OF | 7 | Phil Waugh |
| BF | 6 | Rocky Elsom |
| RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe |
| LL | 4 | Mark Chisholm |
| TP | 3 | Al Baxter |
| HK | 2 | Brendan Cannon |
| LP | 1 | Bill Young |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Adam Freier |
| PR | 17 | Matt Dunning |
| LK | 18 | Al Kanaar |
| N8 | 19 | John Roe |
| SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker |
| FH | 21 | Lachlan MacKay |
| CE | 22 | Lloyd Johansson |
| Coach: ||
| Eddie Jones ||

## Statistical leaders

* Leading try scorers:
** Bryan Habana (SA), Doug Howlett (NZ), Joe Rokocoko (NZ) – 3 each
* Leading point scorer:
** Percy Montgomery (SA) – 52