| Final positions | |
|---|---|
| Champions |  New Zealand (5th title) |
| Bledisloe Cup | New Zealand |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Tries scored | 33 (5.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 307,162 (51,194 per match) |
← 2002 2004 → | |
The 2003 Tri Nations Series was contested from 12 July to 16 August between the national rugby union teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand won the tournament for the fifth time.
New Zealand regained the Bledisloe Cup which Australia had held since 1998.
| Nation | Games | Points | Bonus points | Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | |||
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 65 | +77 | 2 | 18 |
 Australia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 89 | 106 | −17 | 2 | 6 |
 South Africa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 122 | −60 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 July 2003 15:00 SAST (UTC+02) |
| South Africa | 26–22 | Australia (1 BP) |
| Try: Matfield Russell Con: Koen (2) Pen: Koen (4) | Try: Sailor Roff Waugh Con: Burke (2) Drop: Burke |
| Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 48,678 [1] Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand) |
| 19 July 2003 15:00 SAST (UTC+02) |
| South Africa | 16–52 | New Zealand (1 BP) |
| Try: Willemse Con: Koen Pen: Koen (2) Drop: Koen | Try: Howlett (2) Mauger Meeuws Rokocoko (2) Spencer Con: Spencer (4) Pen: Spencer (3) |
| Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: 50,000 [2] Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) |
| 26 July 2003 20:00 AEST (UTC+10) |
| Australia | 21–50 | New Zealand (1 BP) |
| Try: Burke Rogers Sailor Pen: Burke (2) | Try: Carter Howlett Mauger Rokocoko (3) Umaga Con: Carter Spencer (2) Pen: Spencer (3) |
| Stadium Australia, Sydney Attendance: 82,096 [3] Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England) |
| 2 August 2003 20:00 AEST (UTC+10) |
| Australia | 29–9 | South Africa |
| Try: Rogers Waugh Con: Flatley (2) Pen: Flatley (5) | Pen: Koen (3) |
| Lang Park, Brisbane Attendance: 51,188 [4] Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand) |
| 9 August 2003 19:35 NZST (UTC+12) |
| New Zealand | 19–11 | South Africa |
| Try: Rokocoko Con: Spencer Pen: Spencer (4) | Try: Bands Pen: Koen (2) |
| Carisbrook, Dunedin Attendance: 30,200 [5] Referee: Peter Marshall (Australia) |
| 16 August 2003 19:35 NZST (UTC+12) |
| New Zealand | 21–17 | Australia (1 BP) |
| Try: Howlett (2) Con: Spencer Pen: Spencer (3) | Try: Smith Pen: Flatley (4) |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 45,000 [6] Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) |
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
The South Africa national rugby union team commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts. Their emblem is a native antelope, the Springbok, which is the national animal of South Africa. The team has been representing South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the number one ranked rugby team in the world and are the reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup on a record four occasions. Incredibly, the Springboks have won half of the Rugby World Cups they've attended. They are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
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The 2001 Tri Nations Series was contested from 21 July to 1 September between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Wallabies won another thrilling game at Stadium Australia in Sydney with number eight Toutai Kefu scoring a try at the death in captain John Eales' final test match, to successfully defend the Tri Nations trophy.
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The 1998 Tri Nations Series was contested from 11 July to 22 August between the Australia, New Zealand and South Africa national rugby union teams. The Springboks won the tournament.
The 1999 Tri Nations Series was the fourth Tri Nations Series, a rugby union tournament contested by the men's national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It was contested from 10 July to 28 August 1999. New Zealand won the title, winning three of their four matches, including both against South Africa; however, they split the series against Australia, who retained the Bledisloe Cup, having won it outright the previous year.
Tri Nations Series champion is the title given to the rugby union nation that finishes at the top of competition table of the annual Tri Nations Series. The Bledisloe Cup, an Australian-New Zealand trophy is also awarded within the series.
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Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African former professional rugby union player, who played for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship and for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best hookers of his time, both in club and country performances.
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