2015 Rugby Championship
| Date | 17 July 2015 – 8 August 2015 |
|---|---|
| Countries |
 Argentina Australia New Zealand South Africa |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
Australia (1st title) |
| Bledisloe Cup |
New Zealand |
| Freedom Cup |
New Zealand |
| Mandela Challenge Plate |
Australia |
| Puma Trophy |
Australia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Tries scored | 33 (5.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 243,416 (40,569 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Handré Pollard (30) |
| Most tries |
Adam Ashley-Cooper (3) Juan Imhoff (3) |
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← 2014 2016 → | |
The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The 2015 Championship was a shorter competition than normal, with each team playing each other once, rather than twice (home and away). This was so that teams had a longer preparation time ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup which started on 18 September. However, New Zealand hosted an additional match against Australia in Auckland on 15 August which acted as the second Bledisloe Cup test and as a World Cup warm-up.[1] Argentina hosted a second match against South Africa on the same date.
The tournament was known for sponsorship reasons as The Castle Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina.
Australia won the Championship, becoming just the second team to win the tournament since 2012.[2][3] However, including the previous format of the Championship, Australia claimed the title for the first time since 2011, and achieved a 100% win rate for the first time ever in either format.[4][5]
South Africa finished bottom of the table for the first ever time in the Rugby Championship, with Argentina moving out of that position for the first ever time since their inclusion in 2012.[6] South Africa however, did finish bottom of the previous format in 2011. This was also the first ever year that South Africa failed to record a single win in either the Rugby Championship or Tri Nations Series.[7]
Standings
| Place | Nation | Games | Points | Bonus points |
Table points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | 4 Tries | 7 Point Loss | |||
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 48 | +37 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 65 | +20 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 98 | –34 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 88 | –23 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Fixtures
Week 1
| New Zealand |
39–18 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Try: McCaw 20' m Nonu 40' c Piutau 42' c Read 48' c Taylor 71 c Con: Carter (4/5) 40', 44', 49', 73' Pen: Carter (2/4) 5', 16' |
Report | Try: Creevy (2) 55' m, 61' c Con: Sánchez (1/2) 61' Pen: Sánchez (2/3) 12', 33' |
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Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Waisake Naholo and Codie Taylor made their international debuts for New Zealand.
| Australia |
24–20 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Ashley-Cooper 32' c Hooper 73' c Kuridrani 80' c Con: Cooper (2/2) 33', 74' Giteau (1/1) 80' Pen: Cooper (1/3) 54' |
Report | Try: Etzebeth 37' c Kriel 44' c Con: Pollard (2/2) 39', 45' Pen: Pollard (2/3) 15', 25' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Jesse Kriel made his international debut for South Africa.
- Matt Giteau, being named in the starting XV, became the first overseas based player to play for the Wallabies, by virtue of their new selection policy. Drew Mitchell also based overseas, played off the bench.
- Australia won the Mandela Challenge Plate for the first time since 2012.
- Australia earned their first ever opening fixture of the Rugby Championship.
Week 2
| South Africa |
20–27 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Le Roux 9' c Kriel 45' c Con: Pollard (2/2) 10', 46' Pen: Pollard (2/3) 20', 56' |
Report | Try: B. Smith 39' c Coles 48' c McCaw 73' c Con: Sopoaga (3/3) 40', 49', 74' Pen: Sopoaga (2/4) 2', 80' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Vincent Koch and Lionel Mapoe made their international debuts for South Africa.
- James Broadhurst and Lima Sopoaga made their international debuts for New Zealand.
- New Zealand retain the Freedom Cup.
- With this loss, South Africa lose three consecutive matches for the first time since 2011.
| Argentina |
9–34 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Pen: Sánchez (3/3) 29', 40', 57' |
Report | Try: Tomane 16' m Mumm 58' m Kuridrani 77' c Ashley-Cooper 78' m Con: Foley (1/4) 77' Pen: Foley (4/5) 39', 42', 53', 69' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Juan Pablo Socino made his international debut for Argentina.
- Kurtley Beale earned his 50th test cap for Australia.
- Australia win the Puma Trophy.
- With this win, Australia went top of the Rugby Championship table for the first ever time.
Week 3
| Australia |
27–19 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Kepu 43' c Ashley-Cooper 60' c White 71' c Con: Giteau (2/2) 44', 61' White (1/1) 73' Pen: Giteau (1/2) 26' White (1/1) 68' |
Report | Try: Milner-Skudder (2) 55' m, 64' m Con: Carter (0/2) Pen: Carter (3/3) 8', 29', 50' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Nehe Milner-Skudder made his international debut for New Zealand.
- Richie McCaw equaled Brian O'Driscoll's 141-cap record, as the most capped rugby player ever.
- Australia beat New Zealand for the first time since their 25–20 win in 2011, while earning their first win at ANZ Stadium since 2011.
- New Zealand lose their first ever match in the Rugby Championship without claiming a losing bonus point; their last was during the 2011 Tri Nations Series.
| South Africa |
25–37 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Try: De Jager 35' c Le Roux 48' c Habana 78' m Con: Pollard (2/2) 36', 49' Pen: Pollard (2/2) 9', 28' |
Report | Try: Bosch 1' c Imhoff (3) 22' c, 30' c, 41' c Con: Hernández (4/4) 2', 23', 32', 42' Pen: Hernández (1/3) 37' Bosch (1/1) 39' Drop: Bosch (1/1) 62' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- This was Argentina's first ever win over South Africa.
- Argentina claim their first ever bonus point victory, and their first away victory, since joining the Rugby Championship in 2012.
- With this loss, South Africa lost consecutive home Test matches for the first time since 2010/11; and lost four consecutive Test matches for the first time since 2010.
- Juan Imhoff scored Argentina's first hat-trick of tries in the Rugby Championship; and the first hat-trick by any player in the tournament since Israel Folau scored three for Australia against Argentina in 2013.
Squads
Summary
| Nation | Match venues | Head coach | Captain | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | City | Capacity | |||
| Argentina |
Estadio Malvinas Argentinas | Mendoza | 40,268 | Daniel Hourcade |
Agustín Creevy |
| Australia |
ANZ Stadium | Sydney | 84,000 | Michael Cheika |
Stephen Moore |
| Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane | 53,000 | |||
| New Zealand |
AMI Stadium | Christchurch | 18,000 | Steve Hansen |
Richie McCaw |
| South Africa |
Emirates Airline Park | Johannesburg | 62,567 | Heyneke Meyer |
Victor Matfield Schalk Burger Jean de Villiers |
| Growthpoint Kings Park | Durban | 52,000 | |||
Note: Ages, caps and domestic side are of 17 July 2015 – the starting date of the tournament.
Argentina
Argentina's 36-man squad for the Championship, was announced on 26 June 2015.[8]
On 29 March, Juan Pablo Orlandi wad called up to the squad to replace the injured Ramiro Herrera.[9]
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.
AustraliaOn 2 July 2015, Michael Cheika named an extended 40-man squad for the 2015 Rugby Championship.[10] The squad included newly eligible players Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchel, both based at Toulon, France, and uncapped Fijian duo Samu Kerevi and Taqele Naiyaravoro who are eligible through residency. On 5 July, Henry Speight withdrew from the squad due to compassionate leave, and he was replaced with Nick Cummins.[11] Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.
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