For over a century, the question of global rugby supremacy has almost always come down to a clash between two titans: South Africa’s Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks. Both nations, former outposts of the British Empire, took the game invented in England, redefined it, and used the sport as a foundation to build their national identities and carve out respected standing on the world’s sporting stage.
The first formal meeting between the two sides came in 1921, when the Springboks crossed the world by steamship to face the All Blacks on their home turf. From that moment until the dawn of professional rugby 75 years later, cross-hemisphere tours between the two nations were legendary events: drawn out in length, fiercely competitive, steeped in fan fervor, and often mired in high-stakes controversy.
This year marks three decades since the last traditional long-format tour between the two rivals, and the All Blacks have returned to South African soil to kick off an eight-match, six-week tour, opening the campaign this Friday in Cape Town. In a departure from tradition, the fourth and final test match will be played across the Atlantic at M&T Bank Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, a move organized for global marketing and outreach purposes.
When the tour was first announced, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi noted that this format of cross-border tour is something most current players only ever heard about from older generations of the sport. “To experience this for the first time … is unbelievable for us as a group,” Kolisi said. That inexperience is no coincidence: two-thirds of the total 88 players across both national squads were not even born when the last traditional tour took place in 1996. Kolisi was just five years old at the time, while All Blacks captain Ardie Savea was only two. Still, every member of both squads understands the heavy weight of history behind this rivalry.
From their earliest matchups, Springbok-All Black contests have set the global standard for on-pitch intensity and tactical tension, balanced by deep mutual respect and reverence between the teams off the field. Historically, the Springboks dominated early series play, holding an undefeated record in away series against New Zealand between 1903 and 1956, including their only away series win in the country in 1937.
However, the rivalry carried a painful off-field chapter for decades: New Zealand rugby officials bowed to pressure from South Africa’s apartheid government, barring Māori players from joining All Black tours of South Africa until 1970. For many All Black players, the chance to claim a series win in South Africa was the pinnacle of the sport, outweighing every other consideration. Colin Meads, widely hailed as the greatest All Black of the 20th century, got two shots at the prize in 1960 and 1970, and even played two full test matches in 1970 with a broken arm to pursue the win. In his autobiography, Meads summed up the allure of the rivalry: “If you’re ever going to play good rugby, you’ll play it in South Africa. There is always that feeling inside you, as an All Black, that THIS is what it has all been about, that THIS is South Africa and THESE are the players you most want to beat.”
While the matches themselves were uncompromising during the apartheid era, widespread international and domestic protests against the tours from the 1970s onward sparked unprecedented division and social disruption across the sport. When apartheid was formally abolished in 1991, and South Africa was readmitted to international sporting competition, the first opponent the Springboks sought out was New Zealand.
After apartheid ended, the All Blacks initially enjoyed overwhelming support from Black South African fans, but that backing shifted after Nelson Mandela publicly backed the Springboks during South Africa’s iconic 1995 World Cup hosting run, which ended with the Springboks lifting the trophy in an extra-time win over the All Blacks. The following year, the All Blacks returned to South Africa and finally secured their first ever series win on Springbok home soil. The enduring image from that 1996 tour remains captain Sean Fitzpatrick collapsing to the Pretoria turf in elation after the final whistle. Last week, Fitzpatrick and the rest of the 1996 squad met the current All Blacks team, passing the legacy forward, telling the current group this tour will be their greatest adventure, and success will come if they stay united.
Heading into the 2026 tour, the history between the two sides remains perfectly deadlocked: each nation has hosted six tours, claimed four home series wins, and one away series win apiece. But the odds favor the Springboks heading into this year’s series, with the All Blacks entering the tournament as clear underdogs to the world’s top-ranked South African side.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has had eight years to build his squad for this series, cultivating unprecedented depth while leading the team to two consecutive Rugby Championship titles and an 11-test winning streak – the Springboks’ best run of form in 18 years. For Erasmus, this series is also a critical test to identify which players have the endurance to compete for a third straight World Cup title next year, when the tournament will be hosted in Australia. This week, the Springboks are wrapping up a final warm-up match against Argentina before facing the All Blacks.
On the All Blacks side, head coach Dave Rennie has only been in charge since June, and has led the team through just three matches so far. He has already turned around domestic morale by shifting the team’s playing style to a more direct, high-tempo attack. Rennie has rested captain Ardie Savea for the opening tour matches, saving him for the test series, and is preparing his squad for matchups against four of South Africa’s top provincial sides: the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls, and Lions. Though these provincial sides have not played a competitive match in at least two months, and are missing their top players who are with the Springbok national squad, they still carry a traditional role on these tours: to wear down the visiting All Blacks and expose weaknesses before the test matches.
True to the playful but fierce spirit of the rivalry, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis summed up the welcome for the All Blacks when the team landed last Friday: “Off the field we will be the perfect hosts and treat you like royalty, but on the field you can expect no mercy.”