2005 Tri Nations Series

2005 Tri Nations Series

Final positions
Champions	New Zealand (6th title)
Bledisloe Cup	New Zealand
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Tries scored	26 (4.33 per match)
Attendance	303,056 (50,509 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Percy Montgomery (52)
Most tries	Bryan Habana (3) Doug Howlett (3) Joe Rokocoko (3)
← 2004 2006 →

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

Nation	Games				Points			Bonus points	Table points
	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference
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

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[1] Attendance: 53,056[2] 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

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[3] 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

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[4] 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

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

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

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

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

• Tri Nations at Rugby.com.au