The Rugby Championship
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.
| Current season 2023 Rugby Championship | |
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Formerly known as | The Tri Nations |
| Inaugural season | 1996 |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Countries | Argentina Australia New Zealand South Africa |
| Holders | New Zealand (2023) |
| Most titles | New Zealand (20) |
| Website | super.rugby/therugbychampionship |
| Broadcast partner | Sky Sport (New Zealand) Nine Network, Stan (Australia) ESPN, TV Pública (Argentina) SuperSport (South Africa) |
| Related competition | Bledisloe Cup Freedom Cup Mandela Challenge Plate Puma Trophy |
The competition is administered by SANZAAR, a consortium consisting of four national governing bodies: the South African Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Union, Rugby Australia and the Argentine Rugby Union. The inaugural Tri Nations tournament was in 1996, and was won by New Zealand. South Africa won their first title in 1998, and Australia their first in 2000. Following the last Tri Nations tournament in 2011, New Zealand had won ten championships, with South Africa and Australia on three titles each. The first Rugby Championship was won by New Zealand, who won all six of their matches.
New Zealand, South Africa and Australia have frequently been ranked among the top rugby nations. South Africa has won the Rugby World Cup four times, followed by New Zealand with three, and Australia twice, accounting for nine of the ten Cups.