Mandela Challenge Plate

For the association football competition, see Nelson Mandela Challenge.

Mandela Challenge Plate

Sport	Rugby union
Founded	2000
No. of teams	2
Country	Australia South Africa
Most recent champion(s)	Australia

The Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate is a rugby union trophy contested between Australia and South Africa. It is named after South Africa's first post-apartheid president, Nelson Mandela.

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's Colonial Stadium. The second, played in Ellis Park, Johannesburg 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 Cups in those years. In 2012, the Tri Nations was expanded to include Argentina and the competition was renamed The Rugby Championship. Since the teams now play each other twice, holders of the plate retain it if they win at least one of the two games.

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, Victoria.

Matches

Details	Played	Won by Australia	Won by South Africa	Drawn	Australia points	South Africa points
In Australia	15	12	2	0	408	267
In South Africa	13	3	10	0	250	388
Overall	28	16	12	0	658	655

Source:

Results

Year	Date	Venue	Home	Score	Away	Match Winner	Trophy Winner
2016	1 October	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria	South Africa		Australia
	10 September	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	23–17	South Africa	Australia
2015	18 July	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	24–20	South Africa	Australia
2014	27 September	Newlands, Cape Town	South Africa	28–10	Australia	South Africa
	6 September	Patersons Stadium, Perth	Australia	24–23	South Africa	Australia
2013	28 September	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town	South Africa	28–8	Australia	South Africa
	7 September	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	12–38	South Africa	South Africa
2012	29 September	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria	South Africa	31–8	Australia	South Africa
	8 September	Subiaco Oval, Perth	Australia	26–19	South Africa	Australia
2011	13 August	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	South Africa	9–14	Australia	Australia
	23 July	ANZ Stadium, Sydney	Australia	39–10	South Africa	Australia
2010	4 September	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein	South Africa	39–41	Australia	Australia
	28 August	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria	South Africa	44–31	Australia	South Africa
	24 July	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	30–13	South Africa	Australia
2009	5 September	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	Australia	21–6	South Africa	Australia
	29 August	Subiaco Oval, Perth	Australia	25–32	South Africa	South Africa
	8 August	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town	South Africa	29–17	Australia	South Africa
2008	30 August	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	South Africa	53–8	Australia	South Africa
	23 August	Kings Park Stadium, Durban	South Africa	15–27	Australia	Australia
	19 July	Subiaco Oval, Perth	Australia	16–9	South Africa	Australia
2007	7 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	20–18	South Africa	Australia
	16 June	Newlands Stadium, Cape Town	South Africa	22–19	South Africa	South Africa
2006	9 September	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	South Africa	24–16	Australia	South Africa
	5 August	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	20–18	South Africa	Australia
	15 July	Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	49–0	South Africa	Australia
2005	23 July	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	South Africa	33–20	Australia	South Africa
	9 July	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Australia	30–12	South Africa	Australia
2002	17 August	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	South Africa	33–31	Australia	South Africa
2000	8 July	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	Australia	44–23	South Africa	Australia

See also

• History of rugby union matches between Australia and South Africa