| The Tri Nations is an international rugby union competition played annually between the three heavy weights of Southern Hemisphere rugby, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The New Zealand All Blacks have dominated the Tri Nations series, winning the competition no fewer than eight times, including the inaugural event in 1996 and the past three championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Australia and South Africa have each won two Tri Nations Championships, with the last Wallabies victory coming back in 2001 and more recently the Springboks won the series in 2004.
The competition is traditionally played between the months of July to September each year. Each team plays six fixtures in the series, playing the other two team three times. This was increased from each team playing four fixtures prior to 2006, the increase is to accommodate the growing demand for the competition from television audiences not just in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa but from a growing interest in the competition from countries in the Northern Hemisphere such as the United Kingdom who have the Six Nations Championship.
Tri Nations Championship fixtures are played across all three countries, with each of the teams playing three of their six games at home, coming up against one team twice and the other just once. The overall winner is determined by the team who comes out of their six match series with the most points, with four points awarded for a win and two points for a draw, a bonus point is available if the winning team scores four or more tries in a game and the losing team is also eligible for the bonus point if the margin of defeat is seven points or fewer in addition to the bonus point if they have scored four tries and still lost. The Tri Nations Championship Winners have never been decided by a tie breaker; however, if two of the teams finished with the same number of points in the competition the winner is determined by the team with the best tries scored/conceded points' difference.
Despite the All Blacks domination of the Tri Nations in recent years, games do tend to be competitive affairs. Each year, fans of all three teams eagerly await the competition with thousands descending on their rival countries in the quest for Southern Hemisphere supremacy. The remaining millions of Springbok, Wallabies and All Black supporters settle to watch all the action and their rugby bets in the comfort of their front room or at the local sports bar.
Check out the full Tri Nations Championship History, including results dating back to the first Tri Nations Series in 1996. You will also find fixtures for the 2008 Tri Nations Championship along with venue information for anyone looking to be at a game and the Tri Nations betting guide will point anyone looking to have a bet on the Tri Nations Series in the right direction to get the best value on their patriotic wager.
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