2007 Tri Nations Series

The 2007 Tri Nations Series was an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The series began in South Africa on 16 June, with a Test between South Africa and Australia at Newlands, Cape Town and ended on 21 July in Eden Park, Auckland with a Test between New Zealand and Australia. The winners, for the third consecutive year, were New Zealand.

The 2007 series consisted of six matches (two home matches each), three less than the 2006 series, because of the 2007 Rugby World Cup which commenced on 7 September. The draw was scheduled to ensure that no team played more than two matches in a row, the early finish allowing each team seven full weeks before the start of the World Cup.

The competition will revert to a nine-Test series from 2008 onwards. Early in 2007, it was thought that there was a chance that Argentina could be admitted to the competition as early as 2008, as it had been reported that the worldwide governing body for rugby union, the International Rugby Board, was brokering a deal for the entry of the Pumas. However, by August of that year, it became clear that the competition would not be expanded while the current media contracts ran; the key contract with News Corporation does not expire until 2010.

The tournament had been put into jeopardy after the Springboks team confirmed they were sending a below strength side for the Australasian leg of the tournament.

Read more about 2007 Tri Nations Series:  Springbok Selection Controversy, Standings

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