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
1989–92 World Cup (the
1995 World Cup featured England and Wales separately). Co-hosts
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
played in the final, which was narrowly won by the Kangaroos.
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
didn't win a game of the tournament.
After the Lions narrowly defeated the
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...
premiers,
Burleigh Bears
The Burleigh Bears are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Gold Coast, Australia. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup.
Since their admission to the competition in 1997, th ...
, a poor crowd attended their match against Australia at
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
. Fearing a similar attendance for the series final, the tournament organisers relocated the match to
Ericsson Stadium.
With the
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
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.
Results
Tournament matches
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Tournament standings
Final
Non-series Test
During the series, New Zealand also played a Test against
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. This was the last test match to be held at Auckland's
Carlaw Park
Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...
.
Non-series Match
As a curtain raiser to the final, New Zealand Māori played Great Britain.
[Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' ]
References
{{1999 in rugby league
Tri-Nations
Tri-Nations
Rugby League Tri-Nations
Tri
1999
1999