2005 Tri Nations Series
The 2005 Tri Nations Series was the tenth edition of rugby’s annual competition between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, run by SANZAR. It was the last year the tournament used the double round-robin format, with each team playing the other two twice. New Zealand won the title, their sixth Tri Nations crown, after a 31-27 win over South Africa in the penultimate round. Australia could not catch them, and South Africa had already finished their matches. The All Blacks also kept the Bledisloe Cup by beating Australia in both games.
Final standings: 1) New Zealand, 2) South Africa, 3) Australia.
In total six matches were played, 26 tries were scored (about 4.33 per game), and attendance reached 303,056 (about 50,509 per game). The top points scorer was Percy Montgomery with 52, and the most tries (three each) were scored by Bryan Habana, Doug Howlett and Joe Rokocoko.
Season context and results: New Zealand entered as favourites after a Lions tour clean sweep. South Africa, coached by Jake White, faced questions about selections but won their opener against Australia and also beat New Zealand 22-16 in South Africa, giving New Zealand their only loss of the year. In Australia, New Zealand beat the Wallabies 30-13 to retain the Bledisloe Cup, while South Africa beat Australia 22-19 to stay in contention. The title was sealed in New Zealand when Keven Mealamu scored a late try in a 31-27 win over the Springboks, earning a key bonus point. The following week, New Zealand completed the title with a bonus-point win over Australia.
Aftermath: The All Blacks finished 2005 as the world’s top team and went on a Grand Slam tour of the UK and Ireland, with Dan Carter named the World Player of the Year. South Africa’s rising stars also shone, notably Bryan Habana, while Australia struggled with injuries and front-row issues, contributing to Eddie Jones’s departure as coach.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:54 (CET).