The Tri Nations competition is organized by SANZAR, a consortium formed by the rugby governing bodies of Australia's ARU, New Zealand's NZRFU and South Africa's SARFU.

The first tournament was contested in 1996 and was won by the All Blacks. Since the inception of the Tri Nations series the games played between Australia and New Zealand also determine the winner of the Bledisloe Cup each year.

The Tri Nations rugby tournament opens after the completion of the Super 14 competition for the year because players from the SANZAR countries are involved in both. The Tri Nations tournament for 2008 began on 7 July and will finish on 13 September when Australia plays New Zealand in Brisbane.

The winner of the Tri Nations is determined by a points system:

• 4 points for a win
• 2 points for a draw
• 0 points for a loss

Bonus points" may also be earned in any given match and count toward deciding the series winner. A team may earn one bonus point in each of the following ways (to a total of two points):

• By scoring four or more tries in the match, regardless of the final result of the match.
• By losing by seven points (a converted try) or fewer.

A victorious team can collect either 4 or 5 points, depending on whether or not it scored 4 tries.

A losing team may collect from 0 to 2 points. At the end of the series the team with the most points is declared the winner. If teams end level on points the first tiebreaker is point differential, followed by number of tries during the series. However, the Tri Nations has yet to finish in a tie for the top spot.

For travel information about venue towns and the rest of New Zealand go to the Travel Zone towns pages.

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