1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations
| 1999 Tri-Nations | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 3 |
| Winner |
 Australia (1st title) |
|
| |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Attendance | 70,295 (17,574 per match) |
| Tries scored | 26 (6.5 per match) |
| Top scorer |
Mat Rogers[1] (36) |
| Top try scorer |
 Nigel Vagana[1] (4) |
The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989-92 World Cup (the 1995 World Cup featured England and Wales separately). Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand played in the final, which was narrowly won by the Kangaroos. Great Britain didn't win a game of the tournament.
After the Lions narrowly defeated the Queensland Cup premiers, Burleigh Bears, a poor crowd attended their match against Australia at Suncorp Stadium. Fearing a similar attendance for the series final, the tournament organisers relocated the match to Ericsson Stadium.
With the Rugby League World Cup to be staged the following year, and tours of Great Britain by Australia in 2001 and 2003 and New Zealand in 2002, the Tri-nations was not held again until 2004.
Venues
The games were played at the following venues in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament final was played in Auckland.
| Auckland | Brisbane |
|---|---|
| Mount Smart Stadium | Suncorp Stadium |
| Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 52,500 |
 |
 |
Results
Tournament matches
| 15 October |
| New Zealand |
24 – 22 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Stephen Kearney Jason Lowrie Willie Talau Nigel Vagana Goals: Henry Paul 4/4 |
Tries: Brad Fittler (2) Matt Gidley Russell Richardson Mat Rogers Goals: Mat Rogers 3/4 |
NEW ZEALAND
1. Richie Barnett (c) · 2. Nigel Vagana · 3. Ruben Wiki · 4. Willie Talau · 5. Lesley Vainikolo · 6. Robbie Paul · 7. Stacey Jones · 8. Craig Smith · 9. Henry Paul · 10. Joe Vagana · 11. Matt Rua · 12. Stephen Kearney · 13. Logan Swann
Interchange:
14. David Kidwell · 15. Jason Lowrie · 16. Nathan Cayless · 17. Richard Swain
Coach: Frank Endacott
AUSTRALIA
1. Robbie Ross · 2. Mat Rogers · 3. Matt Gidley · 4. Russell Richardson · 5. Wendell Sailor · 6. Brad Fittler (c) · 7. Brett Kimmorley · 8. Darren Britt · 9. Craig Gower · 10. Rodney Howe · 11. Bryan Fletcher · 12. Nik Kosef · 13. Jason Smith
Interchange:
14. Darren Lockyer · 15. Darren Smith · 16. Jason Stevens · 17. Michael Vella
Coach: Chris Anderson
| 22 October |
| Australia |
42 – 6 |  Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Darren Lockyer (2) Brad Fittler Matt Gidley Brett Kimmorley Wendell Sailor Jason Smith Goals: Mat Rogers 6/6 Ryan Girdler 1/2 |
Tries: Iestyn Harris Goals: Andy Farrell 1/1 |
AUSTRALIA
1. Darren Lockyer · 2. Mat Rogers · 3. Shaun Timmins · 4. Matt Gidley · 5. Wendell Sailor · 6. Matthew Johns · 7. Brett Kimmorley · 8. Darren Britt · 9. Craig Gower · 10. Rodney Howe · 11. Bryan Fletcher · 12. Nik Kosef · 13. Brad Fittler (c)
Interchange:
14. Ryan Girdler · 15. Darren Smith · 16. Jason Smith · 17. Michael Vella
Coach: Chris Anderson
GREAT BRITAIN
1. Kris Radlinski · 2. Jason Robinson · 3. Gary Connolly · 4. Keith Senior · 5. Anthony Sullivan · 6. Iestyn Harris · 7. Ryan Sheridan · 8. Dale Laughton · 9. Keiron Cunningham · 10. Barrie McDermott · 11. Denis Betts · 12. Adrian Morley · 13. Andy Farrell (c)
Interchange:
14. Sean Long · 15. Paul Anderson · 16. Paul Sculthorpe · 17. Andy Hay
Coach: Andy Goodway
| 29 October |
| New Zealand |
26 – 4 | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Nigel Vagana (2) Matt Rua Joe Vagana Goals: Henry Paul 5/5 |
Tries: Sean Long Goals: Andy Farrell 0/1 |
NEW ZEALAND
1. Richie Barnett (c) · 2. Nigel Vagana · 3. Ruben Wiki · 4. Willie Talau · 5. Lesley Vainikolo · 6. Henry Paul · 7. Robbie Paul · 8. Joe Vagana · 9. Richard Swain · 10. Craig Smith · 11. Matt Rua · 12. Stephen Kearney · 13. Logan Swann
Interchange:
14. Gene Ngamu · 15. Jason Lowrie · 16. Nathan Cayless · 17. David Kidwell
Coach: Frank Endacott
GREAT BRITAIN
1. Kris Radlinski · 2. Jason Robinson · 3. Gary Connolly · 4. Keith Senior · 5. Francis Cummins · 6. Iestyn Harris · 7. Ryan Sheridan · 8. Dale Laughton · 9. Keiron Cunningham · 10. Barrie McDermott · 11. Adrian Morley · 12. Chris Joynt · 13. Andy Farrell (c)
Interchange:
14. Sean Long · 15. Denis Betts · 16. Mike Forshaw · 17. Andy Hay
Coach: Andy Goodway
Tournament standings
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 4 |
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 2 |
| Great Britain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 68 | −58 | 0 |
Final
5 November |
| New Zealand |
20 – 22 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Robbie Paul Nigel Vagana Goals: Henry Paul (6/7) |
Tries: Mat Rogers (2) Matthew Johns Wendell Sailor Goals: Mat Rogers (3/5) |
Non-series Test
During the series, New Zealand also played a Test against Tonga. This was the last test match to be held at Auckland's Carlaw Park.
Non-series Match
As a curtain raiser to the final, New Zealand Māori played Great Britain.[2]
