The 2013 Rugby Championship, known as ''The

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Rugby Championship'' in South Africa, ''The

Investec Investec is an Anglo-South African international banking and wealth management group. It provides a range of financial products and services to a client base in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Investec is dual-listed on the London ...

Rugby Championship'' in New Zealand, ''The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship'' in Australia and ''The

Personal Personal may refer to: Aspects of persons' respective individualities * Privacy * Personality * Personal, personal advertisement, variety of classified advertisement used to find romance or friendship Companies * Personal, Inc., a Washington, ...

Rugby Championship'' in Argentina for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere championship consisting of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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 ...

. New Zealand as the 2012 holders, was trying to keep their 100% winning record in the championship after winning six from six in 2012. The Championship began on 17 August with Australia hosting New Zealand at

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...

and South Africa hosting Argentina at the

FNB Stadium First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium ( af, ENB-stadion), also known as Soccer City ( af, Sokkerstad) and The Calabash, is an association football (soccer) and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johan ...

. The match between South Africa and Argentina was originally meant to be held at the

Free State Stadium The Free State Stadium ( af, Vrystaatstadion), currently known as the Toyota Stadium for sponsorship reasons and formerly known as Vodacom Park, is a stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, used mainly for rugby union and also sometimes for associa ...

, but it was moved to the FNB to form a unique sports programme – Nelson Mandela Sports Day – in honour of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. The Championship concluded with South Africa hosting New Zealand at the

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was ...

and Argentina hosting Australia at the

Estadio Gigante de Arroyito The Estadio Gigante de Arroyito () is a stadium in the city of Rosario, Argentina. It is owned by club Rosario Central, serving as home venue for football matches. The Argentina national football team has played there several times. The stadium wa ...

. Argentina were the only nation to reuse the same venues from 2012. The Championship was retained by New Zealand after a 38-27 win against South Africa at Ellis Park on 5 October, keeping their 100 percent winning record in the expanded championship.

Standings

Fixtures

Round 1

Notes: * Matt Toomua,

Scott Sio Scott Sio (born 16 October 1991) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership Rugby. His playing position is prop. He made his Brumbies debut during the 2012 Super Rugby season against the Sharks in Canb ...

Scott Fardy Scott Fardy (born 5 July 1984) is an Australian rugby union player who last played for Leinster in the Pro14 & the European Rugby Champions Cup from 2019 to 2021 before retirement. His playing position is either lock or blindside flanker. H ...

Tevita Kuridrani Tevita Kuridrani (born 31 March 1991) is a Fijian-born Australian rugby union player. His usual position is outside-centre. He is currently with French club Biarritz and previously played for the Brumbies and Western Force in Super Rugby. Kur ...

and

Nic White Nicolas William White (born 13 June 1990) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for Brumbies in Super Rugby. His playing position is scrum-half. Early life White attended St Gregory's College Campbelltown representing New South Wa ...

made their debuts for Australia, with Toomua being the first Wallaby to make his debut against New Zealand in the starting XV since

Rod Kafer Rodney B. Kafer (born 25 June 1971) is a retired rugby union player for the ACT Brumbies and the Australian Wallabies. He is remembered by Brumbies fans for kicking a drop-goal in the final minute in a 2001 game against the Cats giving the Bru ...

in 1999. *

Ryan Crotty Ryan Stevenson Crotty (born 23 September 1988) is a New Zealand-born rugby union footballer. He currently plays as a midfield back for the Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League. Crotty played 48 tests for New Zealand's international team, t ...

made his debut for New Zealand. * New Zealand recorded a 100 test victories against Australia, making them the first ever team to record a century of victories over a single nation. * With McCaw's try, he becomes the first New Zealand forward to score 100 test points. ---- Notes: * With this win, South Africa records their biggest winning margin over Argentina of 60. It was previously 54 which they held from 2008. * South Africa records the most points scored by one team in a match in either the Rugby Championship or Tri Nations. It was previously 61 by South Africa in a 61-22 win over Australia in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. * South Africa records the biggest winning margin in either the Rugby Championship or Tri Nations. It was previously held by Australia in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

following a 49-0 victory over South Africa

Round 2

Notes: *

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...

made his debut for New Zealand. * Tony Woodcock became the fourth New Zealand player to earn 100 test caps. * With this win, New Zealand retains the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

. ---- Notes: * With this win, South Africa record their first away win in

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a s ...

* Bismarck du Plessis earned his 50th cap for South Africa.

Round 3

Notes: * During the match,

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...

became the first player to pass 1400 international test points. *

Francis Saili Francis Saili (born 16 February 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, currently playing for French club Biarritz. He plays primarily as a centre, though he can also play wing. He is the younger brother of Blues loose forward Peter Saili. ...

made his debut for New Zealand (All Black number 1126). ---- Notes: * Australia captain

James Horwill James Horwill (born 29 May 1985) is an Australian former rugby union player, who has played for the Australian national side, with 61 caps to his name. He captained the Wallabies a number of times, including during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Hor ...

was selected in the starting XV, but was withdrawn ahead of the match with a hamstring injury. Jake Schatz could have made his debut of the bench, but was ruled out hours before kick off with a knee injury. * First win for South Africa at

Lang Park 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 ...

and their first in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

since 1971. * The victory marks the biggest ever winning margin by South Africa over Australia in Australia.

Round 4

Notes: * New Zealand retain the

Freedom Cup The Freedom Cup () is a minor international rugby union trophy contested between South Africa and New Zealand, during The Rugby Championship and previously during The Rugby Championship's predecessor, the Tri Nations. It was first contested in 2004 ...

. *

Owen Franks Owen Thomas Franks (born 23 December 1987) is a New Zealand rugby player who currently plays for Hurricanes (rugby union), Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition. His usual position is tighthead prop. Franks has previously represented the C ...

earned his 50th test cap playing for New Zealand. ---- Notes: *

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

captain Ben Mowen became the 80th test captain for the Wallabies on just his 7th test. * Australia retain the

Puma Trophy The Puma Trophy () is an international rugby union competition between Argentina and Australia. The trophy is a bronzed statue of a puma. Argentina and Australia first played against each other in 1979 and the trophy itself was established in 20 ...

. * First match Australia has failed to score points in the second half since the home test v New Zealand in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. *

Juan Manuel Leguizamón Juan Manuel Leguizamón (born 6 June 1983) is an Argentine rugby union footballer for Rugby United New York (RUNY) of Major League Rugby (MLR). He plays as a flanker or a number eight. Leguizamón previously played for the Jaguares, the Argenti ...

earned his 50th test cap playing for Argentina.

Round 5

Notes: * Fly-half

Morné Steyn Morné Steyn (born 11 July 1984) is a South African rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for the Bulls and played for the South Africa national team, up until his retirement from international test rugby in October 2021. Steyn has won an ...

and prop

Jannie du Plessis Jan Nathaniel du Plessis (born 16 November 1982 in Bethlehem, Free State) is a South African rugby union player, who plays as a prop for in the French Top 14 and the Lions in Super Rugby. He played for the in the Currie Cup and the in Super ...

earned their 50th caps. * Australia winger

Chris Feauai-Sautia Chris Feauai-Sautia (born 17 November 1993) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer. He plays for the Queensland Reds in and his usual position is Wing, but can also play in the Centre. He is best known for he’s monstrous hit on S ...

made his international debut at the age of 19, and scored his first international try. * South Africa claim the

Mandela Challenge Plate The Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate is a rugby union trophy contested between Australia and South Africa. It is named after South Africa's first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela. History Initially designed to be held every two ye ...

for the first time since 2009. ----

Round 6

Notes: * South African

Tendai Mtawarira Tendai Mtawarira (born 1 August 1985) is a Zimbabwean-South African retired professional rugby union player who last played for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby and previously for the South Africa national team and the in Super Rugby. He w ...

earns his 50th test cap. *

Franco van der Merwe Franco van der Merwe (born 15 March 1983 in Paarl) is a South African rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is lock, although he can also operate as a flanker. Previous clubs include Irish side Ulster in the Pro12, London Irish i ...

made his international debut for South Africa. * Ben Smith scored his 8th try of the tournament, a new record in either the Rugby Championship / Tri Nations. * New Zealand centre pairing

Conrad Smith Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who played predominantly at centre. He captained the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for New Zealand from 2004 until 2015. He was a key mem ...

and

Ma'a Nonu Ma'a Allan Nonu (; born 21 May 1982) is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand who currently plays for the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR). He plays in the inside centre, but can also cover outside centre and wing. H ...

surpass the 50 starts shared by

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

pair

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

and

Gordon D'Arcy Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is secon ...

to become the most-capped centre pairing. ---- Notes: *

Bernard Foley Bernard Foley (born 8 September 1989) is an Australian rugby player of Irish descent. He plays professionally for the Australia national rugby team and the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby. He can cover both fullback and fly-half a ...

made his international debut for Australia, and scored his first international try. *

Felipe Contepomi Felipe Contepomi (born 20 August 1977) is an Argentine rugby coach who is currently the backs coach at Leinster Rugby. He was a rugby union footballer who played fly-half or centre; his last club was Club Newman, in the first division of the U ...

made his final appearance for Argentina. * First bonus point win for Australia in

, and the most points scores in either the Rugby Championship / Tri Nations

Warm-up matches

On 3 August and 9 August, Argentina played two uncapped matches against a

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

Barbarians team in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

and in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

in preparation for the tournament. The NSW Barbarians was composed of 21 Waratahs players (mostly players not involved in the Australian set-up for the championship) and 13

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

players.

Squads

Note: Ages, Caps and Clubs are off the starting date of the tournament (17 August 2013).

Argentina

Argentina 30-man Squad for the Championship was announced on 25 June.

Tomás Lavanini Tomás Lavanini (born 22 January 1993) is an Argentine rugby union player who plays as a second row for ASM Clermont Auvergne in France's Top 14. He previously played for Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby and the Argentine Super Rug ...

was added to the squad to cover the second row.

Australia

Australia 30-man squad for the Championship, including 8 uncapped players and the re-call of Fly Half

Quade Cooper Quade Santini Cooper (born 5 April 1988) is a professional rugby union player and occasional boxer. Although born in New Zealand, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. He currently plays for Hanazono Liners in Japan, ...

. With captain

ruled out of round's 3 and 4 and with

Hugh McMeniman Hugh McMeniman (born 1 November 1983 in Brisbane) is an Australian retired professional rugby union footballer. He represented Australia national rugby union team, Australia in 22 tests and played for the Queensland Reds and Western Force in Sup ...

also out injured,

Sitaleki Timani Sitaleki Timani (born 19 September 1986), is a Tongan-born, Australian professional rugby union footballer. He made his test debut for the Wallabies in 2011. His usual position is lock. Timani's professional club career spanned eight seasons of ...

was brought into the squad as cover for the second row, but kept his place in the squad for the final two rounds. Dave Dennis was added to the squad to replace Jake Schatz who was ruled out of the championship after picking up an injury in training ahead of round 3.

Benn Robinson Benn Robinson (born 19 July 1984) is a former Australian professional rugby union footballer. He played as a loosehead prop for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby and for Australia in international matches. He retired from rugb ...

and

were added to the squad for the away fixtures against

and

, with

Nick Cummins Nicholas Mark Cummins (born 5 October 1987), known by his nickname The Honey Badger, is an Australian former professional rugby union player and television personality. He played for the Western Force in Super Rugby and for Coca-Cola Red Spa ...

and

Jesse Mogg Jesse Mogg (born 8 June 1989) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the French Top 14 club Montpellier. His usual position is at full-back, though he can also play as a winger. Mogg previously played four seasons with the Brumbies ...

withdrawn from the squad due to injury. James O'Connor was removed from the squad on 20 September following an off-field incident that occurred following the Wallabies win over Argentina in round 4. Uncapped player

Peter Betham Peter Betham (born 6 January 1989) is a professional rugby union player. He currently plays for the Provence in the ProD2. He was a representative player for Australia in international rugby matches. His usual position is wing or fullback. F ...

was called in as his replacement.

New Zealand

New Zealand 28-man squad for the Championship was announced on 4 August. Joe Moody was included in the squad as injury cover for

Wyatt Crockett Wyatt William Vogels Crockett (born 24 January 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played at prop for the Crusaders in Super Rugby, Canterbury and Tasman in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team ...

– who had a knee injury. Three additional players will assemble with the squad as part of the wider training squad, but will be released to their provincial sides on the Wednesday of each Test match; these players are:

Frank Halai Frank Halai (born 6 March 1988) is a Tongan rugby union player who plays as a winger for the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for Pau in the Top 14. and for Counties Manukau in the ITM Cup, and before that ...

Jeremy Thrush Jeremy Thrush (born 19 April 1985) is a rugby union lock who plays for the Western Force. He previously played for in Super Rugby and Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup. He represented the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand Under-19 and New Zealan ...

, and

. Following an injury to Francis Saili, Centre

was added to the training squad but will be released to his provincial side along with Halai and Thrush. With

out for the opening two tests, and with

Aaron Cruden Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Chiefs and formerly Montpellier, Manawatu and New Zealand internationally. Cruden's usual position is first five-eighth (fly half). Early life Crud ...

and

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...

injured after the opening round with a knee and calf injury,

Colin Slade Colin Richard Slade (born 10 October 1987) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He played primarily at first five-eighth, as well as all other backline positions on occasions. He was first selected for the All Blacks in 200 ...

and

were called into the squad as cover for the First five-eighths. Luke Whitelock was also drafted in to replace

Luke Romano Luke Romano (born 16 February 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a lock for the Blues in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. He played for the All Blacks from 2012 - 2017 and was a key member of 2015 Rugby ...

(groin injury) and Brad Shields to cover sidelined Liam Messam (hamstring strain).

Rhys Marshall Rhys Joseph Jennings Marshall (born 12 October 1992) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a hooker for Waikato in the National Provincial Championship and in Super Rugby Pacific. Career in New Zealand Marshall has international ...

spent time with the squad as an apprentice hooker as did

Liam Coltman Liam James Coltman (born 25 January 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a hooker for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship (NPC) and the in the international Super Rugby competition. Coltman has also ...

and Nathan Harris.

Matt Todd Matthew Brendon Todd (born 24 March 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who plays as an Openside Flanker for the Toshiba Brave Lupus in the Japanese Top League competition. Todd played 25 tests for New Zealand internationally, from ...

was called in after round 3 to replace the injured Captain

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captained the national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugby ...

, who was ruled out of the championship following an injury. Following an injury to TJ Perenara,

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eight ...

was called up to the squad for the final two rounds against

and

both away. ‡ – Included as injury cover for Wyatt Crockett.
* – Part of the wider training squad

South Africa

South Africa 30-man squad for the Championship was announced on 3 August 2013. On 18 August

Lourens Adriaanse Lourens Cornelius Adriaanse (born 5 February 1988) is a South African rugby union rugby player who plays as a tighthead prop for in the South African Currie Cup. Career Adriaanse was born in Cape Town and has played in the youth teams. He repr ...

was added as a replacement for Trevor Nyakane, who was removed from the squad following repeated breaches of team protocol (he missed the bus and the team's flight to Argentina).

Pieter-Steph du Toit Pieter Stephanus du Toit (born 20 August 1992) is a South African professional rugby union player. Du Toit plays as a lock or a flanker for the South Africa national team and the in Japan Rugby League One. After winning the 2019 Rugby World ...

was added to the squad for the final two rounds with

and

playing at home. ‡ – Included to cover

Fourie du Preez Petrus Fourie du Preez (; born 24 March 1982) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a scrum half for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition and the Bulls in Super Rugby between 2002 and 2011, and for Ja ...

when he is unavailable to play for South Africa

Statistics

Points scorers

Try scorers

References

External links

2013 Rugby Championship at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Championship

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2013 in Australian rugby union 2013 in Argentine rugby union 2013 in New Zealand rugby union 2013 in South African rugby union 2013 rugby union tournaments for national teams