Test Matches - Australia - New Zealand - Tri-Nations

	Left: Kangaroos' skipper Darren Lockyer holds aloft the Tri-Nations Series trophy after their superb victory over Great Britain in the 2004 Final
	Right: Ruben Wiki lifts the trophy after perhaps the Kiwis' greatest ever night - a superb 24 to nil victory over the seemingly invincible Australia in the 2005 Final

The Tri-Nations tournament involves the top three nations in the sport: Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. It is a relatively new concept, though it can be seen as a logical continuation of the early World Cup structure, in which the best teams in the world play in a round robin tournament leading to a final. Since 2004 it has been sponsored by Gillette, and is officially known as the Gillette Tri-Nations.

The first Tri-Nation competition was held in 1999 in Australia and New Zealand. It was not considered a success, and the final was hastily moved from Sydney to Auckland for fear of not attracting a crowd. Although New Zealand topped the group stages, Australia won the tournament.

In a 2002 Test match, Australia easily defeated Great Britain in a one-off Test in Sydney, prompting much criticism of the state of international Rugby League. Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett responded to this criticism in a column in The Courier-Mail proposing that the Tri-Nations tournament be resurrected. In 2004, Bennett had his wish granted, and the second Tri-nations was held. All of the games were hosted in England, with the exception of the opening match between Australia and New Zealand at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Each of the qualifying games was highly competitive, especially Australia's rare loss to Great Britain, who finished at the top of the Tri-nations table. Although Australia soundly defeated Great Britain in the final, the tournament was widely considered to be a success.

The 2005 Tri-Nations opened with a game each in Australia and New Zealand before moving to England for the remainder of the tournament. Great Britain failed to fire until too late - a comprehensive victory over New Zealand at Huddersfield was simply not enough to qualify for the Final. However the Final turned out to be one of the greatest nights in Test football - certainly for New Zealand. A truly dominating New Zealand pack laid the platform for an historic 24 points to nil victory at Leeds' Elland Road - Australia's first failure in a major final since the drawn World Cup Final of 1972 against Great Britain in Lyon. The game was also the first time in twenty years that a Kangaroo side had been held to nil - and all this on Kiwi skipper Ruben Wiki's record busting fiftieth Test cap.

In 2006 the Tri-Nations moved south to be held in Australia and New Zealand - making 2006 and longest season in Australian history. Pessimists claimed people would not turn out for Test football so late in the year, but they were proved wrong by the people of Melbourne and especially Brisbane - with excellent crowds for the visit of New Zealand and Great Britain respectively. Perhaps the mantra should have been that the people of SYDNEY wouldn't turn out at this time of year - the Aussie Stadium failing to fill for both fixtures there. New Zealand qualified despite the "Grannygate" affair when Nathan Fien claimed a New Zealand spot from this GREAT grandmother being born there. Two commanding performances over Great Britain saw them through and despite the superb victory over Australia in Sydney Great Britain couldn't string together the four consecutive games needed to qualify for the Final. The 2006 Final gave us one of THE stories of the year - Australia winning a thrilling game in golden point extra time when Golden Boot winner and captain Darren Lockyer scored the decisive try.

The tournament goes on hold for a couple of years - in 2007 New Zealand will tour Great Britain to celebrate the centenary of international football stemming from the All Golds tour, and a World Cup in Australia in 2008 celebrates the centenary of the game there. The competition is due to commence again in 2009, with England replacing Great Britain and the possibility of extending the competition to include France.