2004 Tri Nations Series

Rugby union tournament

2004 Tri Nations SeriesFinal positions

Champions|  South Africa (2nd title)
Bledisloe Cup|  New Zealand
Freedom Cup|  South Africa
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 6
Tries scored| 32 (5.33 per match)
Attendance| 313,029 (52,172 per match)

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The 2004 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, was the ninth in the series. The competition is organised by SANZAR, a consortium of the three countries' rugby union federations. The series was contested in its original double round-robin format, with each team playing the others twice.

South Africa won the first ever Freedom Cup in a one-off home test against New Zealand. New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup against Australia.

## Synopsis

[edit]

South Africa continued to nurture and develop its rich vein of talent during the Tri-Nations, a competition in which South Africa had not been competitive in three years. However, things were to be different this time as the Boks ploughed their way into the opposition, most notably with a herculean backline display that gave South Africa 10 of its glut of 13 tries in four Tri-Nations matches, as opposed to the All Blacks' much vaunted and feared backline's display of 4 in four games. South Africa's improved displays made for the tightest competition so far in the history of the Tri-Nations.

The Boks opener against the All Blacks was a thriller with Boks 'rush' defence rattling the Kiwis 'flat' attack to its core. After 80 minutes the Boks were ahead before a thrilling attack from the All Blacks claimed a last second try to win the game, courtesy of Doug Howlett. However, the Boks could take a lot out of this game and approached the Wallabies with a spring in their step. The Wallabies too caused South Africa heartache as ex South African under 21s captain Clyde Rathbone snatched the winner for the Aussies with minutes to go.

As the series shifted to South Africa, the Boks needed to beat the All Blacks in order to keep their hopes of a Tri-Nations title, a first since 1998, alive. They did so with vigour as they brushed aside the All Blacks with disdain, providing the authoritative finishing and poise which was lacking to a degree in the first game between the Southern rivals. The only area of the game in which New Zealand competed well was the scoreboard. After going 10–0 down early on South Africa went into the second half ahead, again. However, unlike the first game South Africa provided what they sought out to do with a strong second half display, as they pulled away from the All Blacks, 5 tries to 2. Bok centre Marius Joubert equalled an SA record for the most tries against the All Blacks in the process with a hat trick of tries.

This set up a winner-take-all battle against the Wallabies in Durban. The Boks fell behind 7–3 in a tightly played first half. In the second, they scored tries from forwards Victor Matfield and Joe van Niekerk. While the Wallabies got more tries (three), the difference proved to be the boot of fullback Percy Montgomery, who converted both Boks tries and kicked three penalties to give the Boks a 23–19 win and the Tri-Nations trophy. While the Boks had many heroes in their run through the Tri-Nations, perhaps the greatest was Schalk Burger, who more than lived up to his enormous promise and established himself as arguably the top flanker in the world.

## Aftermath

[edit]

### New Zealand

[edit]

The 2004 Tri-Nations was a disappointing start to the tenures of the new All Blacks coaching staff. Many blamed New Zealand's failure in this tournament to a reliance on the so-called 'flat backline', and as backs coach Wayne Smith drew the brunt of the criticism. The All Black careers of ageing stars Carlos Spencer and Andrew Merhtens were effectively ended by a series of poor performances, and on the end of year tour to Europe Dan Carter emerged as the new first choice All Blacks first-five eighth.

### South Africa

[edit]

In this tournament, the Springboks definitively reemerged as a force in the professional era of rugby union. Going into the Tri Nations, South Africa rugby was in turmoil, best exemplified by the debacle of the 2003 World Cup and the scandal of Kamp Staaldraad. With the emergence of Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers and Marius Joubert as major stars, the Boks used this momentum to become the 2004 IRB Team of the Year. South Africa would sweep the major IRB awards, as Burger earned IRB Player of the Year honours and coach Jake White was named IRB Coach of the Year.

## Format

[edit]

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, lose, or draw)
* 1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less

## Table

[edit]

Nation  | Games  | Points  | Bonus
points  | Table
points

|
|
|
|

Played  | Won  | Drawn  | Lost  | For  | Against  | Difference
South Africa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 110 | 98 | +12 | 3 | 11
Australia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 83 | −4 | 2 | 10
New Zealand | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 83 | 91 | −8 | 1 | 9

## Results

[edit]

### Round 1

[edit]

17 July 2004
19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand | 16–7|  Australia

|
|

Try: Howlett
Con: Carter
Pen: Carter (3)| | Try: Mortlock
Con: Giteau
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 38,000[1]
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina
RW | 14 | Doug Howlett
OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c)
IC | 12 | Dan Carter
LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko
FH | 10 | Carlos Spencer
SH | 9 | Justin Marshall
N8 | 8 | Xavier Rush
OF | 7 | Marty Holah
BF | 6 | Jono Gibbes
RL | 5 | Simon Maling
LL | 4 | Chris Jack
TP | 3 | Carl Hayman
HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu
LP | 1 | Kees Meeuws
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Andrew Hore
PR | 17 | Greg Somerville
FL | 18 | Jerry Collins
FL | 19 | Craig Newby
SH | 20 | Byron Kelleher
FH | 21 | Nick Evans
CE | 22 | Sam Tuitupou
Coach:
Graham Henry
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Chris Latham
RW | 14 | Clyde Rathbone
OC | 13 | Stirling Mortlock
IC | 12 | Matt Giteau
LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri
FH | 10 | Stephen Larkham
SH | 9 | Chris Whitaker
N8 | 8 | David Lyons
OF | 7 | Phil Waugh
BF | 6 | Radike Samo
RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe (c)
LL | 4 | Justin Harrison
TP | 3 | Al Baxter
HK | 2 | Brendan Cannon
LP | 1 | Bill Young
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Jeremy Paul
PR | 17 | Matt Dunning
LK | 18 | Dan Vickerman
FL | 19 | George Smith
SH | 20 | Matt Henjak
FB | 21 | Matt Burke
WG | 22 | Wendell Sailor
Coach:
Eddie Jones

* * *

### Round 2

[edit]

24 July 2004
19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand | 23–21|  South Africa (1 BP)

|
|

Try: Howlett
Pen: Carter (5)
Carlos Spencer| | Try: De Villiers
Cronjé
du Preez
Con: Montgomery (3)
Lancaster Park, Christchurch
Attendance: 34,000[2]
Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina
RW | 14 | Doug Howlett
OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c)
IC | 12 | Dan Carter
LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko
FH | 10 | Carlos Spencer
SH | 9 | Justin Marshall
N8 | 8 | Xavier Rush
OF | 7 | Marty Holah
BF | 6 | Jerry Collins
RL | 5 | Simon Maling
LL | 4 | Chris Jack
TP | 3 | Greg Somerville
HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu
LP | 1 | Kees Meeuws
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Andrew Hore
PR | 17 | Tony Woodcock
LK | 18 | Ali Williams
FL | 19 | Craig Newby
SH | 20 | Byron Kelleher
CE | 21 | Sam Tuitupou
FH | 22 | Nick Evans
Coach:
Graham Henry
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery
RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse
OC | 13 | Marius Joubert
IC | 12 | De Wet Barry
LW | 11 | Jean de Villiers
FH | 10 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen
SH | 9 | Fourie du Preez
N8 | 8 | Jacques Cronjé
BF | 7 | AJ Venter
OF | 6 | Schalk Burger
RL | 5 | Albert van den Berg
LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha
TP | 3 | Eddie Andrews
HK | 2 | John Smit (c)
LP | 1 | Os du Randt
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Danie Coetzee
PR | 17 | Faan Rautenbach
LK | 18 | Quinton Davids
N8 | 19 | Joe van Niekerk
SH | 20 | Bolla Conradie
FH | 21 | Gaffie du Toit
WG | 22 | Brent Russell
Coach:
Jake White

* * *

### Round 3

[edit]

31 July 2004
18:00 AWST (UTC+08)

(1 BP) Australia | 30–26|  South Africa (1 BP)

|
|

Try: Tuqiri
Larkham
Latham
Rathbone
Con: Giteau
Burke
Pen: Giteau (2)| | Try: Van der Westhuyzen
De Villiers
Du Toit
Con: Montgomery
Pen: Montgomery (3)
Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 42,507[3]
Referee: Chris White (England)

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Chris Latham
RW | 14 | Clyde Rathbone
OC | 13 | Stirling Mortlock
IC | 12 | Matt Giteau
LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri
FH | 10 | Stephen Larkham
SH | 9 | George Gregan (c)
N8 | 8 | David Lyons
OF | 7 | Phil Waugh
BF | 6 | George Smith
RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe
LL | 4 | Justin Harrison
TP | 3 | Al Baxter
HK | 2 | Jeremy Paul
LP | 1 | Bill Young
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Adam Freier
PR | 17 | Matt Dunning
LK | 18 | Dan Vickerman
N8 | 19 | John Roe
SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker
FB | 21 | Matt Burke
WG | 22 | Wendell Sailor
Coach:
Eddie Jones
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery
RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse
OC | 13 | Marius Joubert
IC | 12 | De Wet Barry
LW | 11 | Jean de Villiers
FH | 10 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen
SH | 9 | Fourie du Preez
N8 | 8 | Jacques Cronjé
BF | 7 | AJ Venter
OF | 6 | Schalk Burger
RL | 5 | Gerrie Britz
LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha
TP | 3 | Eddie Andrews
HK | 2 | John Smit (c)
LP | 1 | Os du Randt
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange
PR | 17 | CJ van der Linde
LK | 18 | Albert van den Berg
N8 | 19 | Joe van Niekerk
SH | 20 | Bolla Conradie
FH | 21 | Gaffie du Toit
WG | 22 | Brent Russell
Coach:
Jake White

* * *

### Round 4

[edit]

7 August 2004
20:00 AEST (UTC+10)

Australia | 23–18|  New Zealand (1 BP)

|
|

Try: Tuqiri
Pen: Burke (2)
Giteau (4)| | Pen: Carter (4)
Spencer
Mehrtens
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 83,418[4]
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Chris Latham
RW | 14 | Clyde Rathbone
OC | 13 | Stirling Mortlock
IC | 12 | Matt Giteau
LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri
FH | 10 | Stephen Larkham
SH | 9 | George Gregan (c)
N8 | 8 | David Lyons
OF | 7 | Phil Waugh
BF | 6 | George Smith
RL | 5 | Nathan Sharpe
LL | 4 | Justin Harrison
TP | 3 | Al Baxter
HK | 2 | Brendan Cannon
LP | 1 | Bill Young
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Jeremy Paul
PR | 17 | Matt Dunning
LK | 18 | Dan Vickerman
N8 | 19 | John Roe
SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker
FB | 21 | Matt Burke
WG | 22 | Wendell Sailor
Coach:
Eddie Jones
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina
RW | 14 | Doug Howlett
OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c)
IC | 12 | Dan Carter
LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko
FH | 10 | Carlos Spencer
SH | 9 | Justin Marshall
N8 | 8 | Xavier Rush
OF | 7 | Marty Holah
BF | 6 | Jono Gibbes
RL | 5 | Ali Williams
LL | 4 | Chris Jack
TP | 3 | Carl Hayman
HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu
LP | 1 | Kees Meeuws
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Andrew Hore
PR | 17 | Greg Somerville
FL | 18 | Mose Tuiali'i
FL | 19 | Craig Newby
SH | 20 | Byron Kelleher
FH | 21 | Andrew Mehrtens
CE | 22 | Sam Tuitupou
Coach:
Graham Henry

* * *

### Round 5

[edit]

14 August 2004
15:00 SAST (UTC+02)

(1 BP) South Africa | 40–26|  New Zealand

|
|

Try: Joubert (3)
Paulse
De Villiers
Con: Montgomery (3)
Pen: Montgomery (3)| | Try: Muliaina
Rokocoko
Con: Mehrtens (2)
Pen: Mehrtens (4)
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 62,857[5]
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)[nb 1]

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery
RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse
OC | 13 | Marius Joubert
IC | 12 | De Wet Barry
LW | 11 | Jean de Villiers
FH | 10 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen
SH | 9 | Bolla Conradie
N8 | 8 | Joe van Niekerk
BF | 7 | Gerrie Britz
OF | 6 | Schalk Burger
RL | 5 | Victor Matfield
LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha
TP | 3 | Eddie Andrews
HK | 2 | John Smit (c)
LP | 1 | Os du Randt
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange
PR | 17 | CJ van der Linde
LK | 18 | AJ Venter
N8 | 19 | Jacques Cronjé
SH | 20 | Fourie du Preez
FH | 21 | Gaffie du Toit
WG | 22 | Brent Russell
Coach:
Jake White
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Mils Muliaina
RW | 14 | Doug Howlett
OC | 13 | Tana Umaga (c)
IC | 12 | Sam Tuitupou
LW | 11 | Joe Rokocoko
FH | 10 | Andrew Mehrtens
SH | 9 | Justin Marshall
N8 | 8 | Xavier Rush
OF | 7 | Marty Holah
BF | 6 | Jono Gibbes
RL | 5 | Simon Maling
LL | 4 | Chris Jack
TP | 3 | Carl Hayman
HK | 2 | Keven Mealamu
LP | 1 | Kees Meeuws
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Andrew Hore
PR | 17 | Greg Somerville
FL | 18 | Mose Tuiali'i
FL | 19 | Craig Newby
SH | 20 | Byron Kelleher
FH | 21 | Nick Evans
CE | 22 | Aaron Mauger
Coach:
Graham Henry

* * *

### Round 6

[edit]

21 August 2004
15:00 SAST (UTC+02)

South Africa | 23–19|  Australia (1 BP)

|
|

Try: Matfield
Van Niekerk
Con: Montgomery (2)
Pen: Montgomery (3)| | Try: Tuqiri
Mortlock
Smith
Con: Giteau (2)
Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Attendance: 52,247[6]
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

|  |

|

FB | 15 | Percy Montgomery
RW | 14 | Breyton Paulse
OC | 13 | Marius Joubert
IC | 12 | De Wet Barry
LW | 11 | Jean de Villiers
FH | 10 | Jaco van der Westhuyzen
SH | 9 | Bolla Conradie
N8 | 8 | Joe van Niekerk
BF | 7 | AJ Venter
OF | 6 | Schalk Burger
RL | 5 | Victor Matfield
LL | 4 | Bakkies Botha
TP | 3 | Eddie Andrews
HK | 2 | John Smit (c)
LP | 1 | Os du Randt
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Hanyani Shimange
PR | 17 | CJ van der Linde
LK | 18 | Gerrie Britz
N8 | 19 | Jacques Cronjé
SH | 20 | Fourie du Preez
FH | 21 | Gaffie du Toit
WG | 22 | Brent Russell
Coach:
Jake White
|  |  |

|

FB | 15 | Chris Latham
RW | 14 | Clyde Rathbone
OC | 13 | Stirling Mortlock
IC | 12 | Matt Giteau
LW | 11 | Lote Tuqiri
FH | 10 | Stephen Larkham
SH | 9 | George Gregan (c)
N8 | 8 | David Lyons
OF | 7 | Phil Waugh
BF | 6 | George Smith
RL | 5 | Justin Harrison
LL | 4 | Nathan Sharpe
TP | 3 | Al Baxter
HK | 2 | Brendan Cannon
LP | 1 | Bill Young
Replacements:
HK | 16 | Jeremy Paul
PR | 17 | Matt Dunning
LK | 18 | Dan Vickerman
N8 | 19 | John Roe
SH | 20 | Chris Whitaker
FB | 21 | Matt Burke
WG | 22 | Wendell Sailor
Coach:
Eddie Jones

## Scorers

[edit]

Leading try scorers  | Pos | Name | Tries | Pld | Team

|
|
|
|

1  | Jean de Villiers | 3 | 4 |  South Africa
Marius Joubert | 3 | 4 |  South Africa
3  | Lote Tuqiri | 3 | 4 |  Australia

Leading point scorers  | Pos | Name | Points | Pld | Team

|
|
|
|

1 | Percy Montgomery | 45 | 4 |  South Africa
2 | Dan Carter | 38 | 3 |  New Zealand
3 | Matt Giteau | 26 | 4 |  Australia

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Replaced by Donal Courtney (Ireland)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "New Zealand 16 - 7 Australia". ESPN.com.
2. ^ "New Zealand 23 - 21 South Africa". ESPN.com.
3. ^ "Australia 30 - 26 South Africa". ESPN.com.
4. ^ "Australia 23 - 18 New Zealand". ESPN.com.
5. ^ "South Africa 40 - 26 New Zealand". ESPN.com.
6. ^ "South Africa 23 - 19 Australia". ESPN.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Tri Nations at Rugby.com.au

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