# 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations

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 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (the 1995 World Cup featured England and Wales separately). 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.
After the Lions narrowly defeated the Queensland Cup premiers, Burleigh Bears, a poor crowd attended their match against Australia at Suncorp Stadium. Fearing a similar attendance for the series final, the tournament organisers relocated the match to Ericsson Stadium.
With the Rugby League World Cup to be staged the following year, and tours of Great Britain by Australia in 2001 and 2003 and New Zealand in 2002, the Tri-nations was not held again until 2004.

## Venues

The games were played at the following venues in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament final was played in Auckland.
| Auckland | Brisbane |
| Mount Smart Stadium | Suncorp Stadium |
| Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 52,500 |

## Results
### Tournament matches

* 15 October
| New Zealand | 24–22 | Australia |
| Tries: Stephen Kearney Jason Lowrie Willie Talau Nigel Vagana Goals: Henry Paul (4/4) | | Tries: Brad Fittler (2) Matt Gidley Russell Richardson Mat Rogers Goals: Mat Rogers (3/4) |
* Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 22,540 Referee: Russel Smith
| New Zealand | Australia |
| FB | 1 | Richie Barnett (c) |
| RW | 2 | Nigel Vagana |
| RC | 3 | Ruben Wiki |
| LC | 4 | Willie Talau |
| LW | 5 | Lesley Vainikolo |
| FE | 6 | Robbie Paul |
| HB | 7 | Stacey Jones |
| PR | 8 | Craig Smith |
| HK | 9 | Henry Paul |
| PR | 10 | Joe Vagana |
| SR | 11 | Matt Rua |
| SR | 12 | Stephen Kearney |
| LK | 13 | Logan Swann |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | David Kidwell |
| IC | 15 | Jason Lowrie |
| IC | 16 | Nathan Cayless |
| IC | 17 | Richard Swain |
| Coach: ||
| Frank Endacott ||
| FB | 1 | Robbie Ross |
| RW | 2 | Mat Rogers |
| RC | 3 | Matthew Gidley |
| LC | 4 | Russell Richardson |
| LW | 5 | Wendell Sailor |
| FE | 6 | Brad Fittler (c) |
| HB | 7 | Brett Kimmorley |
| PR | 8 | Darren Britt |
| HK | 9 | Craig Gower |
| PR | 10 | Rodney Howe |
| SR | 11 | Bryan Fletcher |
| SR | 12 | Nik Kosef |
| LK | 13 | Jason Smith |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Darren Lockyer |
| IC | 15 | Darren Smith |
| IC | 16 | Jason Stevens |
| IC | 17 | Michael Vella |
| Coach: ||
| Chris Anderson ||
* 22 October
| Australia | 42–6 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Darren Lockyer (2) Brad Fittler Matt Gidley Brett Kimmorley Wendell Sailor Jason Smith Goals: Mat Rogers (6/6) Ryan Girdler (1/2) | | Tries: Iestyn Harris Goals: Andy Farrell (1/1) |
* Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 12,511 Referee: David Pakieto
| Australia | Great Britain |
| FB | 1 | Darren Lockyer |
| RW | 2 | Mat Rogers |
| RC | 3 | Shaun Timmins |
| LC | 4 | Matthew Gidley |
| LW | 5 | Wendell Sailor |
| FE | 6 | Matthew Johns |
| HB | 7 | Brett Kimmorley |
| PR | 8 | Darren Britt |
| HK | 9 | Craig Gower |
| PR | 10 | Rodney Howe |
| SR | 11 | Bryan Fletcher |
| SR | 12 | Nik Kosef |
| LK | 13 | Brad Fittler (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Ryan Girdler |
| IC | 15 | Darren Smith |
| IC | 16 | Jason Smith |
| IC | 17 | Michael Vella |
| Coach: ||
| Chris Anderson ||
| FB | 1 | Kris Radlinski |
| RW | 2 | Jason Robinson |
| RC | 3 | Gary Connolly |
| LC | 4 | Keith Senior |
| LW | 5 | Anthony Sullivan |
| SO | 6 | Iestyn Harris |
| SH | 7 | Ryan Sheridan |
| PR | 8 | Dale Laughton |
| HK | 9 | Keiron Cunningham |
| PR | 10 | Barrie McDermott |
| SR | 11 | Denis Betts |
| SR | 12 | Adrian Morley |
| LF | 13 | Andy Farrell (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Sean Long |
| IC | 15 | Paul Anderson |
| IC | 16 | Paul Sculthorpe |
| IC | 17 | Andy Hay |
| Coach: ||
| Andy Goodway ||
* 29 October
| New Zealand | 26–4 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Nigel Vagana (2) Matt Rua Joe Vagana Goals: Henry Paul (5/5) | | Tries: Sean Long Goals: Andy Farrell (0/1) |
* Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 14,040 Referee: Tim Mander
| New Zealand | Great Britain |
| FB | 1 | Richie Barnett (c) |
| RW | 2 | Nigel Vagana |
| RC | 3 | Ruben Wiki |
| LC | 4 | Willie Talau |
| LW | 5 | Lesley Vainikolo |
| FE | 6 | Henry Paul |
| HB | 7 | Robbie Paul |
| PR | 8 | Joe Vagana |
| HK | 9 | Richard Swain |
| PR | 10 | Craig Smith |
| SR | 11 | Matt Rua |
| SR | 12 | Stephen Kearney |
| LK | 13 | Logan Swann |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Gene Ngamu |
| IC | 15 | Jason Lowrie |
| IC | 16 | Nathan Cayless |
| IC | 17 | David Kidwell |
| Coach: ||
| Frank Endacott ||
| FB | 1 | Kris Radlinski |
| RW | 2 | Jason Robinson |
| RC | 3 | Gary Connolly |
| LC | 4 | Keith Senior |
| LW | 5 | Francis Cummins |
| SO | 6 | Iestyn Harris |
| SH | 7 | Ryan Sheridan |
| PR | 8 | Dale Laughton |
| HK | 9 | Keiron Cunningham |
| PR | 10 | Barrie McDermott |
| SR | 11 | Adrian Morley |
| SR | 12 | Chris Joynt |
| LF | 13 | Andy Farrell (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Sean Long |
| IC | 15 | Denis Betts |
| IC | 16 | Mike Forshaw |
| IC | 17 | Andy Hay |
| Coach: ||
| Andy Goodway ||

### Tournament standings

| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
| New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 4 |
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 2 |
| Great Britain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 68 | −58 | 0 |

### Final

* 5 November
| New Zealand | 20–22 | Australia |
| Tries: Robbie Paul Nigel Vagana Goals: Henry Paul (6/7) | | Tries: Mat Rogers (2) Matthew Johns Wendell Sailor Goals: Mat Rogers (3/5) |
* Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 21,204 Referee: Russell Smith
| New Zealand | Australia |
| FB | 1 | Richie Barnett (c) |
| RW | 2 | Nigel Vagana |
| RC | 3 | Ruben Wiki |
| LC | 4 | Willie Talau |
| LW | 5 | Lesley Vainikolo |
| FE | 6 | Henry Paul |
| HB | 7 | Robbie Paul |
| PR | 8 | Joe Vagana |
| HK | 9 | Richard Swain |
| PR | 10 | Craig Smith |
| SR | 11 | Matt Rua |
| SR | 12 | Stephen Kearney |
| LK | 13 | Logan Swann |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Gene Ngamu |
| IC | 15 | Jason Lowrie |
| IC | 16 | Nathan Cayless |
| IC | 17 | David Kidwell |
| Coach: ||
| Frank Endacott ||
| FB | 1 | Darren Lockyer |
| RW | 2 | Mat Rogers |
| RC | 3 | Matthew Gidley |
| LC | 4 | Darren Smith |
| LW | 5 | Wendell Sailor |
| FE | 6 | Matthew Johns |
| HB | 7 | Brett Kimmorley |
| PR | 18 | Jason Stevens |
| HK | 9 | Craig Gower |
| PR | 10 | Darren Britt |
| SR | 11 | Bryan Fletcher |
| SR | 12 | Nik Kosef |
| LK | 13 | Brad Fittler (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Jason Smith |
| IC | 15 | Ryan Girdler |
| IC | 16 | Michael Vella |
| IC | 17 | Shaun Timmins |
| Coach: ||
| Chris Anderson ||

### Non-series Test

During the series, New Zealand also played a Test against Tonga. This was the last test match to be held at Auckland's Carlaw Park.
* 27 October
| New Zealand | 74–0 | Tonga |
| Tries: Brian Jellick (4) Nigel Vagana (3) David Kidwell Jason Lowrie Henry Paul Tony Puletua Richard Swain Lesley Vainikolo Goals: Henry Paul (11/13) | | Tries: Goals: |
* Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 4,528 Referee: Andy Cook
| New Zealand | Tonga |
| FB | 1 | Richie Barnett (c) |
| LW | 2 | Brian Jellick |
| RC | 3 | David Kidwell |
| LC | 4 | Ruben Wiki |
| RW | 5 | Lesley Vainikolo |
| FE | 6 | Henry Paul |
| HB | 7 | Stacey Jones |
| PR | 8 | Joe Vagana |
| HK | 9 | Richard Swain |
| PR | 10 | Terry Hermansson |
| SR | 11 | Tony Puletua |
| SR | 12 | Stephen Kearney |
| LK | 13 | Logan Swann |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Willie Talau |
| IC | 15 | Nathan Cayless |
| IC | 16 | Jason Lowrie |
| IC | 17 | Nigel Vagana |
| Coach: ||
| Frank Endacott ||
| FB | 1 | Paul Koloi |
| LW | 2 | Tevita Ole'o |
| RC | 3 | Phil Howlett (c) |
| LC | 4 | Greg Wolfgramm |
| RW | 5 | Kotoni Seleti |
| FE | 6 | Tevita Vaikona |
| HB | 7 | Lani Filiai |
| PR | 8 | Nelson Lomi |
| HK | 9 | Esau Mann |
| PR | 10 | Liuaki Hansen |
| SR | 11 | Andrew Lomu |
| SR | 12 | Alfons Masella |
| LK | 13 | Sione Marima |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Fili Lolohea |
| IC | 15 | Tu'ihaka Valu Afungia |
| IC | 16 | Chief Lee |
| IC | 17 | Viliami Soni |
| Coach: ||

### Non-series Match

As a curtain raiser to the final, New Zealand Māori played Great Britain.
* 5 November
| Māori | 12–22 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Alex Chan Darren Rameka Goals: Luke Goodwin (1) Willie Rangi (1) | | Tries: Sean Long (2) James Lowes Anthony Sullivan Goals: Andy Farrell (3) |
* Ericsson Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 21,204 Referee: David Pakieto
| Māori | Great Britain |
| FB | 1 | Alex Chan |
| LW | 2 | Steve Matthews |
| RC | 3 | Peter Lewis |
| LC | 4 | Steve Berryman |
| RW | 5 | Jared Mills |
| FE | 6 | Luke Goodwin |
| HB | 7 | Willie Rangi |
| PR | 8 | Paul Rauhihi |
| HK | 9 | Tukere Barlow (c) |
| PR | 10 | John Edmonds |
| SR | 11 | Robert Henare |
| SR | 12 | Darren Rameka |
| LK | 13 | Andrew Wynyard |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Gavin Bailey |
| IC | 15 | Martin Moana |
| IC | 16 | Frank Watene |
| IC | 17 | Wairangi Koopu |
| Coach: ||
| Cameron Bell ||
| FB | 1 | Kris Radlinski |
| RW | 2 | Jason Robinson |
| RC | 3 | Keith Senior |
| LC | 4 | Anthony Sullivan |
| LW | 5 | Francis Cummins |
| SO | 6 | Andy Farrell (c) |
| SH | 7 | Sean Long |
| PR | 8 | Paul Anderson |
| HK | 9 | Keiron Cunningham |
| PR | 10 | Dale Laughton |
| SR | 11 | Adrian Morley |
| SR | 12 | Paul Sculthorpe |
| LF | 13 | Chris Joynt |
| Substitutions: ||
| IC | 14 | Stuart Fielden |
| IC | 15 | Barrie McDermott |
| IC | 16 | Mike Forshaw |
| IC | 17 | Andy Hay |
| Coach: ||
| Andy Goodway ||