The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
competition contested annually by
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,
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 ...
, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. These are traditionally the four
highest ranked national teams in the
Southern Hemisphere; the
Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
The competition is administered by
SANZAAR, a consortium consisting of four national governing bodies: the
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
,
New Zealand Rugby Union
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...
,
Rugby Australia
Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...
and the
Argentine Rugby Union. The inaugural Tri Nations tournament was in 1996, and was won by New Zealand. South Africa won their first title in 1998, and Australia their first in 2000. Following the last Tri Nations tournament in 2011, New Zealand had won ten championships, with South Africa and Australia on three titles each. The first Rugby Championship was won by New Zealand, who won all six of their matches.
New Zealand, South Africa and Australia have frequently been ranked among the top rugby nations. South Africa has won the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
four times, followed by New Zealand with three, and Australia twice, accounting for nine of the ten Cups.
History
Foundation
Australia and New Zealand first played each other in 1903. South Africa toured both nations in 1921 but there was never any formal competition between these teams, unlike the
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
(now known as the
Six Nations Championship) in the Northern Hemisphere and the three nations only met sporadically.
In the 1930s, Australia and New Zealand started contesting 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 ...
during rugby tours between the two countries.
The final acceptance of professionalism in rugby union launched the Tri Nations concept
- nearing the completion of the
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.
The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...
, multimillion-pound negotiations between the South African, New Zealand and Australian unions took place to form
SANZAR
SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...
. The new union soon announced a ten-year deal worth £360 million. The competition was established to create an equivalent to the
Five Nations in Europe.
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, this competition was extended to include
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 ...
, a country whose impressive performances in international games (especially in reaching the third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup) was deemed to merit inclusion in the competition. As a result of the expansion to four teams, the tournament was renamed The Rugby Championship.
Format
The series is played on a home-and-away basis. From the first tournament in 1996 until 2005, the three teams played each other twice. From then until 2012, each team played the others three times, totally six games per team, except in the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
years of
2007 and
2011 when the series reverted to a double round-robin.
With the addition 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 ...
, in 2012, the format once again reverted to a double round-robin, meaning each team again played six games. For 2015, to provide the teams longer preparation time ahead of the
2015 Rugby World Cup, each side played the others' teams only once each. This format was also adopted for the
2019 Tournament.
Related competitions
In addition to the Rugby Championship trophy, the winner of games played between Australia and New Zealand also go toward determining the winner of 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 ...
each year. Similarly, the
Freedom Cup is contested between New Zealand and South Africa, the
Mandela Challenge Plate between Australia and South Africa, and the
Puma Trophy between Australia and Argentina.
Tri Nations
The opening tournament of 1996 was dominated by the All Blacks who stormed to victory undefeated, leaving the Springboks and the Wallabies with just one win each — against each other. The opening exchange was between New Zealand and Australia, New Zealand winning by over 40 points and, although they won all four of their games, the later matches were a lot closer in their scorelines. The launch of the Tri Nations was considered a huge success.
A similar story unfolded the following year, 1997. The All Blacks maintained their dominance over the new competition and again went undefeated. Australia and South Africa found themselves in similar position again with just one win each. The 1998 series was something of a turnaround for all nations with South Africa winning the tournament and Australia finishing second. Two-time winner New Zealand finished at the bottom with no wins. In the following tournament in 1999 New Zealand again became Tri Nations champions and defending champions South Africa fell to the bottom.
Australia, the World Champions at the time, won their first Tri Nations championship in 2000. That tournament is also notable for Australia's opening match against 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 ...
where 109,874 spectators attended.
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...
scored a try in injury time to grab the win for the All Blacks. The game was hailed as one of the greatest ever,
and the end competition thought by some to be the best Tri Nations ever at the time.
Australia continued their reign as Tri Nations champions by successfully defending the trophy the following year. Their run ended in 2002 when the All Blacks won the championship again. New Zealand successfully defended it in 2003. South Africa won the 2004 tournament where the three nations finished with two wins each. The Springboks emerged as winners due to their superior table points. The trophy returned to New Zealand in 2005 and the Wallabies failed to win a game. In 2006 New Zealand retained the trophy with 2 games still to be played. In 2007, the Tri Nations was shortened to two games against either team, because it clashed with the Rugby World Cup in France. The Tri Nations championship and the Bledisloe Cup came down to the final match, between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park. New Zealand ran out easy winners, and lifted both the trophies. There was some controversy as South Africa fielded less than a full strength squad in the away legs in Australia and New Zealand in anticipation of the World Cup. New Zealand defended their title in 2008, in beating Australia in the final match in Brisbane. In 2009, South Africa claimed the season crown in their final match with an away win over New Zealand in Hamilton. 2010 saw another dominant performance by New Zealand, winning the tournament with 2 games to spare and all 6 of their games.
On 5 December 2020 , a traditional version of the
Australian National Anthem was sung for the first time in the
Eora indigenous language, before the match between the
Argentinian Pumas and the Australian
Wallabies.
Expansion
The competition was expanded in 2006 and saw each of the three nations play each other three times, although the 2007 series reverted to a double round-robin to reduce fixture congestion in a
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
year. Historically there were persistent rumours about the inclusion 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 ...
and this was formalised on 14 September 2009 when it was announced that Argentina would become part of the competition in 2012. There have also been rumours about a Pacific Islands team being included too.
Until then, Argentina was the only
tier 1 nation that had no regular competition, and some, among them former Pumas captain
Agustín Pichot
Agustín Pichot (born 22 August 1974, in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine rugby union player, formerly captain of the Argentine team and the English club Bristol. In addition to Bristol, he played for French sides Stade Français and Racing ...
,
["Six Nations would be magnificent seven with us, pleads Pichot"](_blank)
'' Western Mail'', 19 June 2006. had even spoken of them joining the
Six Nations. However, a spokesperson said: "We belong in a tournament in the southern hemisphere and not in an expanded Six Nations". The inclusion of Argentina did have some support from some bodies, South African Rugby Union deputy chief executive saying: "We would support (their) request to play in the Tri-Nations". Former Springbok coach Jake White also said: "I think it would add a new dimension to the tournament and perhaps refresh it."
Since 2007 a deal between the
International Rugby Board
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
(IRB), the world governing body for the sport, was brokering a deal with
SANZAR
SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from ...
to admit Argentina to the Tri Nations as early as 2008
''The Sunday Times'' reported that many players and fans in the SANZAR countries disliked the expansion to a triple round-robin, noting that former All Blacks scrum-half
Justin Marshall
Justin Warren Marshall (born 5 August 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played 81 games for the New Zealand All Blacks between 1995 and 2005.
Marshall played for the in the Super 12 from 1996 to 2005, winning the competit ...
accused SANZAR of overkill in 2006. Also, the piece added that South Africa is highly dissatisfied with the current Tri Nations format, as it requires that the Boks tour for a month while the Wallabies and All Blacks fly in and out of South Africa in a week. The addition of Argentina would even out travel commitments for all teams involved. ''The Sunday Times'' noted that there were two main stumbling blocks to adding Argentina:
* Division of broadcast revenue, which is currently shared equally by the four
SANZAAR countries.
* At the time, the biggest stumbling block was possibly the
Argentine Rugby Union (UAR). ''The Times'' noted that some UAR members were "deeply attached to amateurism", adding that the IRB had a blueprint on the table for a South American provincial competition similar to SANZAR's
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
, featuring six Argentine provincial sides and one each from Uruguay and Chile, but UAR had yet to approve it.
However, by August 2007, it became clear that there would be no expansion of the series before the current television contract between SANZAR and
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
expires in 2010. An IRB spokesman stated that the main problems with adding the Pumas to the Tri Nations, besides media contracts, were fixture congestion and the lack of a professional structure in Argentina.
Domestic rugby in Argentina is still amateur; in fact, the UAR constitution specifically prohibited professional rugby in the country until December 2007,
and even did not allow for a professional league.
Because of this, a large majority of the Pumas play for European club teams, which would likely create further scheduling conflicts. Admission of Argentina was therefore submitted to several conditions for the UAR:
* Ensure its best players would be available at the Tri-nations time of year, late summer, which is exactly when France's Top 14 and England's Premiership start their first games.
* Develop professional rugby inside Argentina thanks to a SANZAR loan and financial support from the IRB; Professionalisation has since entered Argentina.
* Reform competitions into a single united professional league. There are now regional leagues being the one from Buenos Aires city the strongest and a short 4-team clubs national championship.
In November 2007, the IRB held a conference on the future worldwide growth of the sport, with the status of ''Los Pumas'' a key topic of discussion. The most important decision made at the conference, with regard to the Tri Nations, was the agreement of the UAR to establish a professional rugby structure between 2008 and 2012, at which time Argentina would be "fully integrated into the Southern top-flight Rugby playing structure." At the time of the IRB conference, the UAR had already scheduled a special meeting for 28 December 2007 to amend its constitution to allow players to be paid.
Shortly after the IRB conference,
New Zealand Rugby Union
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...
deputy chief executive Steve Tew expressed doubts that, within ten years, a professional domestic competition in Argentina would be sufficiently viable to retain elite players in South America despite all the good intentions and funding of the IRB. The aforementioned UAR meeting did not result in the formation of a professional league. The 23 provincial delegates voted unanimously to keep their domestic league amateur, but approved a plan to centrally contract the Pumas selection pool to the UAR as professionals.
In February 2009, the UAR announced that under a plan supervised and financed by the IRB, it had contracted 31 local players, who will each receive 2,300
Argentine peso
The peso (established as the ''peso convertible'') is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using peso or dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 '' centavos''. Its ISO 4 ...
s (US$655/
£452) per month. The eventual goal is for these players to form the core of a future Pumas selection pool.
Argentina officially joined The Rugby Championship in a meeting in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
on 23 November 2011.
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
have been in talks with joining the competition as they seek to face better opponents. They previously played in the
Asia Rugby Championship
The Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region. The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969, and was call ...
which they dominated in for many years, facing lower competition.
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
have also been mentioned as another potential candidate to join the competition, as they tend to be the better performing tier 2 country. Along with Fiji,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and
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 ...
, other smaller potentials to join, compete in the annual
World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa national rugby union team, Samoa and Tonga national rugby union team, Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include ...
.
On 5 October 2023, Flying Fijians head coach
Simon Raiwalui
Simon Raiwalui (born 8 September 1974) is a Fijian former rugby union player. He served as the General Manager for his former French club, Racing Métro 92. He currently co-manages Stade Français. He has represented Fiji national rugby union team ...
confirmed that there were ongoing discussions of Fiji being part of the competition after the
2023 Rugby World Cup
The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...
. He mentioned the need of results, rankings and administrative structures for admission into Rugby Championship.
Competition
The order of fixtures has changed several times in the history of the series. In the past each team played the others twice. After some tweaking of the schedule it was decided to start the series with two fixtures in either South Africa or New Zealand and move the series to the country that did not host the opening rounds. Under this setup Australia's home fixtures were always the middle two in the series.
The recent reworking of the calendar took effect with the
2006 event. This was the result of a new television deal between SANZAR and broadcasters in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and the SANZAR countries. Each team plays the other three times. In 2006 the series opened in New Zealand and the first four rounds alternated between New Zealand and Australia. The fifth round was in Australia. After a one-week break the series returned to New Zealand and then finished with South Africa's three home fixtures. Each team has two home fixtures against one team and only one home fixture against the other.
The competition begins in July. Originally it had started late in July but, with the expansion of the series, the start date has moved to early in the month. It typically ends early in September. The Rugby Championship opens after the completion of the
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
competition for the year because players from the SANZAR countries are involved in both.
The winner is determined by a points system:
*4 points for a win
*2 points for a draw
*0 points for a loss
"Bonus points" may also be earned in any given match and count toward deciding the series winner. A total of two bonus points can be possibly scored:
*The ''Attacking bonus point''. Prior to 2016, a team could gain an attacking bonus point by scoring four or more tries in the match, regardless of the final result. From the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
competition onwards, this was modified so that an attacking bonus point is awarded if a team scores at least three tries more than their opponents.
*The ''Defending bonus point'' by losing by seven points (a converted
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
* ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs
* "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987)
* "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014)
* "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004)
* " Try (Ju ...
) or fewer.
A victorious team can collect either 4 or 5 points, depending on whether or not it gained an attacking bonus point. A team that draws can collect either 2 or 3 points, depending on whether or not it gained an attacking bonus point. A losing team may collect from 0 to 2 points. At the end of the series the team with the most points is declared the winner.
If teams end level on points for any position, the first tiebreaker is total number of wins in the competition, then number of wins against the other team/s tied on points, then overall points differential, then points differential between the team/s tied on points, then most tries scored in the competition. If that can't differentiate the team, the series or position will be shared.
However, the Rugby Championship has yet to finish in a tie for the top spot.
Results
Tri-Nations (1996–2011)
The Rugby Championship (2012–Present)
Overall titles (since 1996)
Notes:
* The 1996–2011 results were for the Tri Nations; the results from 2012 to the present are for the Rugby Championship.
* Teams played only four matches in 2007 and 2011, and three in 2015 and 2019, due to the Rugby World Cup.
* In 2020, the Tri Nations was contested between Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Due to COVID-19, South Africa did not participate.
Attendance
Tri Nations
Full capacity at Eden Park was not available as the stadium underwent renovations to expand for the forthcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
.
The 2020 Tournament, held entirely in Australia, was played with maximum 50% stadium capacity allowance due to the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The tournament was played as a Tri Nations series for the first time since 2011, as South Africa were unable to participate.
Rugby Championship
The two matches between South Africa and Argentina were both played in empty stadiums in South Africa, as crowds were not allowed to attend due to the ongoing affects of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Top scorers
The following sections contain points and tries which have been scored in The Rugby Championship.
Top points scorers
Updated: 29 July 2023
Source:''
espnscrum.com
/small>
Top try scorers
Updated: 29 July 2023
Source:''
/small>
U20 Rugby Championship
The U20 Rugby Championship is the youth edition of the competition The Rugby Championship, played between the teams that make up
SANZAAR (
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
,
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 ...
,
Australia,
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 ...
)
In July 2023 it was announced that the first edition of the youth competition of ''The Rugby Championship'' would be played, starting in April 2024, hosted on the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
While
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 ...
competed annually in the
Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship
The Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship is an international rugby union competition organised by Oceania Rugby, which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania. It is contested by men's junior national teams with an under-20 age requir ...
outside of the
World Rugby U20 Championship,
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 ...
and
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 ...
did not compete in any organised competition.
[ The team sitting in first at the end of three rounds will be declared the champions.][
]
Tournament history
Broadcasting rights
In Australia, the Rugby Championship is broadcast on the Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
and Stan. Nine airs Wallabies matches free-to-air while Stan broadcasts all matches. The competition was formerly broadcast by Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
until 2020. Sky Sport airs the competition in New Zealand. Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
broadcast live matches of The Rugby Championship in Asia. Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
shows all games live in the UK and Ireland, while ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
holds the rights in the Americas, airing matches in Argentina on ESPN Latin America
ESPN Latin America (on-air as ESPN) is the Latin American division of ESPN Inc., and broadcasts sports-related programming for the region in Spanish. It was launched on 31 March 1989. Its programming is adapted to the likes of viewers, who tend ...
and in North America on its WatchESPN
WatchESPN was a branding of the Internet television website and mobile application operated by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst C ...
streaming service.
See also
* History of rugby union matches between Argentina and Australia
*
*
*
* History of rugby union matches between Australia and South Africa
*
* Rugby union trophies and awards Rugby union trophies and awards have been given out to teams and participants from the very earliest days of the sport's history. In common with many other sports rugby union has an array of competitions, both domestic international, covering the sp ...
* Six Nations Championship, an analogous tournament of national teams in the Northern Hemisphere
Notes
References
External links
*
FOX Sports Australia Championship section
Championship news from Planet Rugby
Independent Rugby Championship news from SuperXV Rugby
IRB.com, 14 September 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Championship, The
Argentina national rugby union team
Australia national rugby union team
New Zealand national rugby union team
South Africa national rugby union team
Recurring sporting events established in 1996
SANZAAR rugby union competitions
International rugby union competitions hosted by Australia
International rugby union competitions hosted by New Zealand
International rugby union competitions hosted by Argentina
Rugby union competitions for national teams
History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa
History of rugby union matches between Argentina and South Africa
History of rugby union matches between Argentina and Australia
History of rugby union matches between Argentina and New Zealand
History of rugby union matches between Australia and South Africa
History of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand