The Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate is a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
trophy contested between
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. It is named after South Africa's first democratically elected president,
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
.
History
Initially designed to be held every two years, the trophy was first contested as a one-off match in 2000, with Australia winning the game 44-23 at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
's
Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...
. The second, played in
Ellis Park,
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
in 2002, was also South Africa's home game in the
Tri Nations, and was won 33–31 by South Africa. The 2004 event, delayed until 2005, was played over two legs, and was not part of the Tri Nations. Since South Africa were the holders, Australia needed to win both games to reclaim the trophy. Australia won the first game 30–12, but lost the return leg at Ellis Park, 33–20.
Between 2006 and 2011, with the expansion of the Tri Nations series so that each country plays each other three times, the plate was contested over three Tests, akin to the
Bledisloe Cup, with the exception of 2007 and 2011, when teams only played 4 games each, to accommodate for the
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport.
The tournament is administer ...
s in those years. In 2012, the Tri Nations was expanded to include
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and the competition was renamed
The Rugby Championship. The teams now play each other twice, and the challengers are required to beat the holders in both games to win the plate.
The trophy is a leather-clad silver plate containing a 24 carat (100%) rim, and a central gold disk showing a Wallaby and a Springbok (the icons of the two teams).
It was designed by Flynn Silver, an Australian family company from
Kyneton
Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east.
The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...
,
Victoria.
Matches
Source:
[ – select Wallabies and Boks, Mandela Plate.]
Results
See also
*
References
External links
{{South Africa national rugby union team
2000 establishments in Australia
2000 establishments in South Africa
The Rugby Championship trophies
History of rugby union matches between Australia and South Africa
International rugby union competitions hosted by Australia
International rugby union competitions hosted by South Africa
Plate