The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams played each other twice, rather than once, prior to the final.

One referee from each participating nation was appointed to control matches in the Tri-Nations: The games were played at the following venues in New Zealand and England.

During the series, Australia and New Zealand both played an additional test match against France.

[4][5][6] On their way back to Australia just four days after the Tri-Nations Final, the Kangaroos played a match, known as the Liberty Bell Cup against the USA at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Played in quarters instead of halves, and on a synthetic field that was the size of a Grid iron field, the American's shocked the Australians by racing to an 18–0 lead nearing half time and actually went into the long break with a 24–6 lead.