The majority of the 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations was played in Great Britain and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

. The final was played between Australia and New Zealand at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The ...

on Saturday 26 November. New Zealand won the match 24-0 and were crowned 2005 Tri-Nations champions, breaking Australia's 27-year undefeated international tournament record. The tournament was officially known as the 2005 Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship from

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

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Participating teams

Each team was to play the other three twice during the round robin tournament. The top two finishing teams would then contest the final.

Officials

One referee from each participating nation was appointed to control matches in the Tri-Nations: *

Tim Mander Timothy Leonard Mander (born 9 August 1961) is an Australian politician and a former leading Australian rugby league referee. He is a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Mander was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader ...

(2 matches) *

Steve Ganson Steve Ganson (born 4 January 1970 in St. Helens, Lancashire, England) is a former rugby league referee, and current Head of Match Officials and Technical Director with the English Rugby Football League. He is the second professional referee fro ...

(4 matches) *

Glen Black Glen Black is a New Zealand former rugby league referee. An international referee, Black has also controlled Canterbury Rugby League, New Zealand Rugby League and Super League matches. International career Black was the New Zealand Rugby League' ...

(1 match)

Venues

The games were played at the following venues in Australia, New Zealand and England.

Final

The Tri-Nations Final was played in Leeds.

Results

Tournament matches

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---- * Australia were without their captain Darren Lockyer for this match and the remainder of the tournament after he injured his foot at training.

Tournament standings

Final

The historic win by the Kiwis over an Australian 17 containing only 3

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 , establishe ...

players and one player from the previous month's 2005 NRL grand final put an end to the Kangaroos' dominance in international rugby league. It was the first time Australia, hot favourites for the match, had failed to win a series or tournament since France defeated them in both Tests of the 1978 Kangaroo tour. The win by New Zealand was the first time the Kiwis had beaten Australia in a test series or tournament (not including one-off test wins in 1971, 1987 and 1998) since 1952. Australian coach Wayne Bennett resigned from the national coaching post just over a week after the final.

Player statistics

Non-series tests

During the series, Australia and New Zealand played additional Tests against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. This was the first time the two teams had met in a test match since Australia's 74–0 win in

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

in the last game of the 1994 Kangaroo tour. For this match, Craig Gower was given the honour of captaining Australia for the first time.Annual Report 2005
– Australian Rugby League Australia 44 (A Minichiello 2, T Waterhouse 2, M Cooper, S Prince, C Gower, W Mason tries; S Prince 6 goals) defeated France 12 (L Frayssinous, M Gresqueu tries; L Frayssinous 2 goals) ----

Other game

New Zealand played a midweek match against England "A" which did not count as a test match. Halftime was 12-all.

References

External links

''Kiwis overcome critics to down Kangaroos in Tri-Nations opener'' – kangaroos.leagueunlimited.com

2005 Tri-nations final at trinations.rlfans.com

{{2005 in rugby league Rugby League Tri-Nations

Rugby League Tri-Nations The Rugby League Tri-Nations (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations for sponsorship reasons) was a rugby league tournament involving the top three teams in the sport: Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand and is the predecessor of today's Ru ...

Tri-Nations

International rugby league competitions hosted by the United Kingdom

Participating teams

Officials

Venues

Final

Results

Tournament matches

Tournament standings

Final

Player statistics

Non-series tests

Other game

See also

References

Further reading

External links