FACTS: Rugby Championship, SANZAAR, and Bledisole Cup?
* ‘The Rugby Championship’ is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
* These are the four highest-ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere.
* ‘The Rugby Championship’ is equivalent to ‘the Six Nations’, a similar tournament taking place in the Northern Hemisphere, contested among England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
* Prior to the 2012 Rugby Championship, when Argentina joined as the fourth country, it was known as ‘the Tri Nations’.
* 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
* New Zealand are the current title holders of ‘the Rugby Championship’. They have also won most number of titles, 17, since the inauguration of the tournament in 1996.
* The related competitions of ‘the Rugby Championship’ include (i) Bledisole Cup, played between Australia and New Zealand since 1932, (ii) Freedom Cup, played by New Zealand and South Africa since 2004, (iii) Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate, played by Australia and South Africa since 2000, and (iv) Puma Trophy, played by Argentina and Australia since 2000.
Compiled by Ranjika Perera