2006 Tri Nations Series
| Final positions | |
|---|---|
| Champions |
 New Zealand (7th title)
|
| Bledisloe Cup |
New Zealand
|
| Freedom Cup |
New Zealand
|
| Mandela Challenge Plate |
 Australia
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Tries scored | 42 (4.67 per match) |
| Attendance | 406,899 (45,211 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Daniel Carter (99) |
| Most tries |
Lote Tuqiri (3) Jaque Fourie (3) |
|
← 2005
2007 →
|
|
The 2006 Tri Nations Series, an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, marked the tenth anniversary of the original competition. With three rounds still remaining, the New Zealand All Blacks were assured of first place in the competition after their victory over Australia on 19 August, their 21st consecutive home win.
This year, for the first time, each team played the others three times, instead of twice, as had been the case previously. This was the result of a new television deal between SANZAR, the consortium of the three countries' rugby federations that organises the tournament, and broadcasters in the SANZAR countries and the United Kingdom. As a result, the duration of the competition was extended and it ran from 8 July to 9 September.
The All Blacks won all three matches against Australia, thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup. They also won two of their three matches against South Africa, thereby winning the Freedom Cup for the first time. Australia regained the Mandela Challenge Plate after winning their two home tests against South Africa.
As in past competitions, points were earned as follows:
At the end of 2005, the Wallabies looked to be in decline after having just ended an all-time record Test losing streak of seven. The streak led to the sacking of coach Eddie Jones and his replacement by John Connolly. The 2006 mid-year Tests saw improvement with two wins over England and a win over Ireland. Ireland's captain Brian O'Driscoll – who played against both the Wallabies and All Blacks in Ireland's mid-year Tests – was more impressed by the Wallabies, and tipped them as favourites over the All Blacks.
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