2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations
Template:Short description Template:Infobox rugby league international tournament The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship<ref name="SB-gillettesponsor2004-3N-03-09-04">Template:Cite web</ref>) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams played each other twice, rather than once, prior to the final.
The tournament final of the tournament was predicted by some to be a close affair, with the British team heralded as slight favourites after finishing at the top of the league table. Instead, it was a one-sided match as Australia produced their best performance of the tournament. The game was effectively over by half-time when Australia led by 38–0.
Participating teams
Each team was to play the other three twice during the round robin tournament. The top two finishing teams would then contest the final.
| Team | Nickname | Coach | Captain | RLIF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag icon Australia | The Kangaroos | Wayne Bennett | Darren Lockyer | 1 |
| Template:Flag icon New Zealand | The Kiwis | Daniel Anderson | Ruben Wiki | 2 |
| Template:Flag icon Great Britain | The Lions | Brian Noble | Andy Farrell | 3 |
Officials
One referee from each participating nation was appointed to control matches in the Tri-Nations:
- Template:Flagicon Tim Mander (2 matches)
- Template:Flagicon Russell Smith (3 matches)
- Template:Flagicon Glen Black (2 matches)
Venues
The games were played at the following venues in New Zealand and England.
| Auckland | London | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| North Harbour Stadium | Loftus Road | City of Manchester Stadium |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 18,439 | Capacity: 47,726 |
|
|
|
| Huddersfield | Wigan | Hull |
| Galpharm Stadium | JJB Stadium | KC Stadium |
| Capacity: 24,500 | Capacity: 25,138 | Capacity: 25,400 |
|
|
|
Final
The tournament final was played in Leeds.
| Leeds |
|---|
| Elland Road |
| Capacity: 37,890 |
|
Results
Tournament matches
Tournament standings
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Rl | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 60 | +20 | 6 |
| Template:Rl | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 5 |
| Template:Rl | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 64 | 95 | −32 | 1 |
Final
Player statistics
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
| Top point scorers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | T | G | FG | Pts | ||||
| 1 | Darren Lockyer | Template:Rl | 2 | 10 | 0 | 28 | |||
| 2 | Luke Rooney | Template:Rl | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | |||
| 3 | Andy Farrell | Template:Rl | 1 | 9 | 0 | 22 | |||
| 4 | Brent Webb | Template:Rl | 1 | 8 | 0 | 20 | |||
| 5 | Stuart Reardon | Template:Rl | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| Top try scorers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | T | |||||||
| 1 | Luke Rooney | Template:Rl | 6 | ||||||
| 2 | Stuart Reardon | Template:Rl | 4 | ||||||
| 3 | Anthony Minichiello | Template:Rl | 3 | ||||||
| Willie Tonga | Template:Rl | ||||||||
| Brian Carney | Template:Rl | ||||||||
| Vinnie Anderson | Template:Rl | ||||||||
Non-series Tests
During the series, Australia and New Zealand both played an additional test match against France.
Additional Matches
A one-off match was also played between an ANZAC side made up of touring Australian and New Zealand players and a Cumbria side.<ref>Three-Try Heroes Whitehaven News, 29 October 2004. Accessed 2009-08-14. Archived 2009-08-16.</ref><ref>Fans to meet Anzacs players Allerdale Borough Council, 6 October 2004. Accessed 2009-08-14. Archived 2009-08-16.</ref><ref>Kimmorley to captain Anzac team AAP, 26 October 2004</ref>
On their way back to Australia just four days after the Tri-Nations Final, the Kangaroos played a match, known as the Liberty Bell Cup against the USA at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Played in quarters instead of halves, and on a synthetic field that was the size of a Grid iron field, the American's shocked the Australians by racing to an 18–0 lead nearing half time and actually went into the long break with a 24–6 lead. They managed to keep their lead until late in the game when the fitness of the Australians, who had bombed numerous try scoring opportunities through the game, told and the Kangaroos overhauled the home team to win 36–24.<ref>USA vs Australia 1st half</ref> Template:Rugbybox Template:Clear
References
External links
Template:Rugby League Tri-Nations Template:2004 in rugby league