Tri Nations Rugby League: The Tri Nation Rugby League is one of the major rugby league tournaments of the world. The tournament is also known as the Rugby League Tri Nations or the Gillette Tri Nations. The top three rugby playing nations, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, participate in the contest. This tournament is often referred to as an extension of the Rugby League World Cup. The Tri Nation Rugby League has been contested since 1999.
Two different formats have been used for organizing the Tri Nation Rugby League Tournament. In the first Tri Nations in 1999, the teams had to play against each other once. The top two teams qualified for the final. Since 2004, each of the teams has to play twice with the other participants. In this format, the teams are given points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no point for a loss). The top two teams play against each other in the finals. The Tri Nation Rugby League is staged in October and November every year. The tournament starts in the middle of October, following the National Rugby League grand final. During this period, Australia and New Zealand play against each other. After the completion of the Super League grand final, Great Britain enters the tournament.
The first Tri Nation Rugby League tournament took place in Australia and New Zealand in 1999. New Zealand finished at the top of the ladder at the preliminary stage of the competition. However, in the final match, New Zealand was defeated by Australia. The second tournament was held in 2004 in New Zealand and Great Britain. This time, Britain was the top team after the preliminary round, and lost to Australia at the final. Australia won the tournament for the second consecutive time.
In 2005, the Tri Nations was staged in three nations, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. This time New Zealand defeated Australia in the final after the later team topped in the round one. On the fourth occasion in 2006, the tournament was again held in Australia and New Zealand. Australia won the contest for the third time defeating New Zealand, after finishing at the top of the ladder in the first round. The Tri Nations will not be staged in 2007. Four nations are likely to participate in the 2009 tournament. The nations likely to compete in the tournament are Australia, New Zealand, England and France.
Australia has been the most successful nation at the Tri Nation Rugby League tournament. The three-time champion Australia has won on ten occasions among the 14 matches during the competition. The points collected by the Australian team is 21. New Zealand, the second team has accumulated 13 points in the tournament by winning six of the fifteen matches. In the third position lies England with 10 points. Darren Lockyer (Australia), Nigel Vagana (New Zealand), Brent Webb (New Zealand), Mark Gasnier (Australia),B Carney (Great Britain), Luke Rooney (Australia), Matt Cooper (Australia), Anthony Minichiello (Australia), Keith Senior (Great Britain), C Toopi (New Zealand), M Vatuvei (New Zealand), Greg Inglis (Australia), S Reardon (Great Britain), P Johnson (Great Britain), I Soliola (New Zealand), Brent Tate (Australia), V Anderson (New Zealand), Karmichael Hunt (Australia), Mark O'Meley (Australia), Willie Tonga (Australia) and J Webster (New Zealand) are some of the well known rugby league player at the Tri Nation Rugby League tournament.
