Background
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia were ranked first, second, and third in the world respectively by the International Rugby Board (IRB) immediately before the start of the Tri Nations on 30 June 2008. Now New Zealand is first, South Africa second and Australia remains third. South Africa gained the number one ranking after their 2007 Rugby World Cup victory, and had held the position for 26 weeks. Prior to that the All Blacks had been ranked number one in the world for 175 weeks. The All Blacks went into the series with a world record 29 successive home victories, and South Africa with a 13 match winning streak.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Tri Nations Series
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