The 2014 Rugby Championship was the third edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The tournament was won by New Zealand, with South Africa second, Australia third, and Argentina last.
The Championship began on 16 August with Australia hosting the defending champions, New Zealand, at the Stadium Australia in Sydney and South Africa hosting Argentina at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The tournament continued for seven weeks, which included two byes, and concluded on 5 October with South Africa versus New Zealand at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg and Argentina versus Australia at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
On 27 September, New Zealand clinched their third consecutive Championship after a bonus-point 34–13 win against Argentina in La Plata. The 2014 Rugby Championship was the first in which New Zealand failed to win all their matchesthey drew with Australia in Week 1 and lost to South Africa in Week 6. It also saw the first Championship-match win for Argentina who defeated Australia 21–17 in the last match of the tournament.
Format and standings The format for the 2014 tournament was the same as that for the 2012 and 2013 editions. Each side played the other once at home, and once away; giving a total of six matches each, and twelve in total. A win earns a team four points, a draw two points, and a loss no points. A bonus point can be earned one of two ways: by scoring four tries or more in a match, or by losing within seven points. The competition winner is the side with the most points at the end of the tournament, however if two sides finish equal on points the side with the most wins is placed higher.
Tournament standings Place Nation Games Points TryBonus LosingBonus Tablepoints Played Won Drawn Lost For Against 1 6 4 1 1 164 91 +73 3 1 22 2 6 4 0 2 134 110 +24 1 2 19 3 6 2 1 3 115 160 −45 0 1 11 4 6 1 0 5 105 157 −52 0 3 7
Summary
The first match of the championship was between New Zealand (also known as the All Blacks) and Australia (the Wallabies) in Sydney, Australia. The fixture doubled as a Bledisloe Cup match, and ended as a 12–12 draw. The All Blacks started stronger, and led 9–3 at half time, but Australia were much better in the second half. New Zealand had two players temporarily sent-off after being awarded yellow cards, but Australia were unable to capitalize on that advantage during their late dominance. All points were scored from penaltiesfour from each side. The draw ended a 17-match winning streak by the All Blacks. The following week both side met in their second Bledisloe Cup match of the Championship (the third is played following the tournament), but this time at Eden Park in New Zealand. The match was comfortably won by New Zealand 51–20, whose scored six tries to Australia's two. The All Blacks were regarded as the more physical of the two teams, and scored two tries from mauls. The win meant that New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup (Australia needed to win the three-match series to regain the cup).
The second match of the tournament was between South Africa (the Springboks) and Argentina (the Pumas) and played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. South Africa won 13–6 and scored the only try of the match, which was played in wet and raining conditions. The following week the two teams met again, this time at Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena in Salta, Argentina. The Springboks won again, but were considered lucky to get the 31–33 victory. At one stage Argentina were winning by 12 points, and were leading with five minutes remaining, but Springbok Morné Steyn kicked a penalty in the 76th minute to give South Africa the lead and the win.
In weeks three and four, Argentina and South Africa both travelled to Australasia for two away matches. Argentina played the All Blacks in Napier where they lost 28–9, before facing Australia on the Gold Coast where they lost 32–25. The Pumas loss to the All Blacks was played in wet conditions, with New Zealand scoring four tries, and Argentina three penalties. Argentina's loss to Australia was much closer than their defeat in New Zealand. Despite leading by 16 points after 60 minutes, Australia conceded twelve points in the final quarter. Argentina trailed by seven points, the value of a converted try, when they had a scrum deep within Wallabies' territory, but Australia were awarded a free-kick after the Pumas' scrum-half fed the ball too early and the game ended. In the third week the Springboks played Australia in Perth, where the Wallabies won 24–23. The Wallbies had trailed 23–14, but scored ten unanswered points after Springbok wing Bryan Habana, who was playing in his 100th test match, was yellow carded for a high tackle. The following week South Africa played the All Blacks in Wellington. The match was won 14–10 by New Zealand, but only after they resisted repeated South African attacks on their try-line late in the game. The win was the 36th consecutive victory for the All Blacks in New Zealanda record stretching back to 2009.
The last two weekends of matches were played in South Africa and Argentina. First up the Wallabies faced the Springboks in Cape Town, where South Africa won 28–10. The victory came after a ten-minute period at the end of the match where the Springboks scored three-tries. The same weekend Argentina faced the All Blacks in La Plata. For the New Zealanders the match was overshadowed by the omission of Aaron Cruden, who had missed the flight to Argentina, and was subsequently dropped from the squad for the last two weeks of the Championship. The All Blacks won 34–13, and with the bonus-point win took an unassailable lead in the Championshipgiving them their third Rugby Championship, and 13th overall since the inception of the Tri-Nations Championship in 1996.
Despite New Zealand having secured the Championship title a week earlier, the final week of matches proved historic. The first match was the Springboks hosting the All Blacks at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. All Blacks' captain Richie McCaw played his 134th match for the side, surpassing the national record held by Colin Meads. However the New Zealanders 22-match unbeaten run (going back to December 2012) was ended after a penalty kicked by South African Patrick Lambie in the 78th minute gave his side a 27–25 win. The last match of the tournament was between Argentina and Australia at Mendoza. The test was won 21–17 by the Pumastheir first win in the Rugby Championship since joining the competition in 2012. Australia led 14–0 within the first 15 minutes after scoring two early tries, however Argentina slowly accumulated points to overhaul their opponents.
Sponsorship The 2014 Rugby Championship was also known, for sponsorship reasons, as The Castle Lager 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.
Fixtures
Week 1
FB 15Israel FolauRW 14Pat McCabeOC 13Adam Ashley-CooperIC 12Matt To'omuaLW 11Rob HorneFH 10Kurtley Beale SH 9 Nic White N8 8 Wycliff Palu OF 7 Michael Hooper (c)BF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Rob SimmonsLL 4 Sam CarterTP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Nathan CharlesLP 1 James Slipper Replacements:HK 16James HansonPR 17Pekahou Cowan PR 18Ben Alexander LK 19Will Skelton N8 20Scott Higginbotham SH 21Nick Phipps FH 22Bernard Foley CE 23Tevita KuridraniCoach: Ewen McKenzie FB 15Ben SmithRW 14Cory JaneOC 13Malakai FekitoaIC 12Ma'a Nonu LW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Aaron Cruden SH 9 Aaron SmithN8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c)BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Brodie RetallickTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Ben Franks PR 18Joe Moody FL 19Steve LuatuaFL 20Sam Cane SH 21TJ PerenaraFH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Ryan Crotty Coach: Steve Hansen Man of the Match: James Slipper (Australia)
Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) Stuart Berry (South Africa) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa) Notes: Conrad Smith was named in the starting XV, but was withdrawn from the team on 15 August to attend the birth of his first child. Joe Moody made his international debut for New Zealand. The draw ended New Zealand's 17-match winning streak, preventing them from taking sole charge of the record for longest winning streak by a Tier 1 nation.
FB 15Willie le RouxRW 14Cornal HendricksOC 13Damian de AllendeIC 12Jean de Villiers (c)LW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10Handré Pollard SH 9 Ruan PienaarN8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Marcell CoetzeeBF 6 Francois LouwRL 5 Lood de JagerLL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 Jannie du Plessis HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis LP 1 Tendai MtawariraReplacements:HK 16Adriaan Strauss PR 17Trevor NyakanePR 18Frans Malherbe LK 19Eben Etzebeth FL 20Oupa MohojéSH 21Francois HougaardFH 22Morné Steyn CE 23Jan SerfonteinCoach: Heyneke Meyer FB 15Joaquín TuculetRW 14Horacio Agulla OC 13Marcelo BoschIC 12Santiago González IglesiasLW 11Manuel MonteroFH 10Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Martín Landajo N8 8 Juan Manuel LeguizamónOF 7 Juan Martín Fernández LobbeBF 6 Pablo Matera RL 5 Tomás Lavanini LL 4 Mariano GalarzaTP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)LP 1 Marcos AyerzaReplacements:HK 16Matías CortesePR 17Lucas Noguera PazPR 18Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro LK 19Matías Alemanno N8 20Leonardo Senatore SH 21Tomás Cubelli CE 22Jerónimo de la Fuente WG 23Lucas González Amorosino Coach: Daniel Hourcade Man of the Match: Francois Louw (South Africa)
Touch judges: Steve Walsh (Australia) Marius Mitrea (Italy) Television match official: Simon McDowell (Ireland) Notes: Willem Alberts and Juan Martín Hernández were both named in their respective starting XV, but were withdrawn from their teams hours before kick off due injuries. Damian de Allende made his international debut for South Africa.
Week 2
FB 15Ben SmithRW 14Cory Jane OC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ryan Crotty LW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Aaron Cruden SH 9 Aaron SmithN8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Liam Messam RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Brodie Retallick TP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Ben Franks PR 18Charlie Faumuina FL 19Steve Luatua FL 20Sam Cane SH 21TJ Perenara FH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Malakai Fekitoa Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Israel FolauRW 14Pat McCabe OC 13Adam Ashley-CooperIC 12Matt To'omua LW 11Rob HorneFH 10Kurtley BealeSH 9 Nic White N8 8 Wycliff Palu OF 7 Michael Hooper (c)BF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Rob Simmons LL 4 Sam CarterTP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Nathan Charles LP 1 James SlipperReplacements:HK 16James Hanson PR 17Pekahou CowanPR 18Ben Alexander LK 19Will Skelton N8 20Scott Higginbotham SH 21Nick Phipps FH 22Bernard Foley CE 23Tevita Kuridrani Coach: Ewen McKenzie Man of the Match: Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Jaco Peyper (South Africa) Stuart Berry (South Africa) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa) Notes: Cory Jane earned his 50th test cap for New Zealand. New Zealand retain the Bledisloe Cup.