In 2026 the traditional Rugby Championship will be absent, but a nostalgic tour will bring New Zealand’s All Blacks to South Africa for an eight‑match series, including four Test encounters with the Springboks, all broadcast live on Sky Sports. Marketed in both countries as the "Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour," the itinerary celebrates more than a hundred years of competition between the two most successful rugby nations.
So far the All Blacks have dispatched the Stormers, the Sharks and the Bulls, and they now face the Springboks in Test matches slated for 22 August, 29 August, 5 September and 12 September. The schedule also features a mid‑tour clash against the British & Irish Lions on 25 August.
The final Test will be played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, USA, marking an unusual trans‑Atlantic finish to the tour. The rivalry began on 13 August 1921 when the Springboks arrived in New Zealand for a three‑Test series. The All Blacks won the opening match 13‑5 at Carisbrook, Dunedin, but South Africa answered with a 9‑5 victory at Eden Park a week later.
The third encounter in Wellington ended in a 0‑0 draw, leaving the series tied 1‑1. That early dead‑heat set the stage for a rivalry that has endured at the very top of the sport. To date the two sides have met in roughly 110 Test matches.
New Zealand have recorded 63 wins, South Africa 43, and four games have finished level. When the games are split by venue, the Springboks have a slight edge at home: out of 54 Tests in South Africa they have won 28, lost 25 and drawn once. In New Zealand, the All Blacks have been even more dominant, winning 34 of the 48 Tests played there, with the Boks managing 11 victories and three draws.
World Cup encounters have added further drama. The Springboks have bested the All Blacks in two finals – the iconic 1995 showdown in Johannesburg and the 2023 final in France – and also claimed a third‑place win in 1999. Conversely, New Zealand have knocked South Africa out in the 2015 semi‑final, the 2003 quarter‑final and the pool stage of the 2023 tournament.
After the inaugural 1921 series, the teams met again in 1927 when the All Blacks toured South Africa. That series ended 2‑2, each side taking two victories. South Africa then enjoyed a period of dominance, winning the 1937 tour of New Zealand 2‑1 and sweeping a home series in 1949 4‑0. New Zealand struck back in 1956 with a 3‑1 home series win, only for the Boks to respond with a 2‑1 series victory on home soil in 1960.
The rivalry was heavily affected by South Africa’s apartheid policies between 1948 and 1994. The regime’s refusal to allow mixed‑race teams forced New Zealand to exclude its Māori players from several tours, provoking public protests and international condemnation. By the mid‑1960s South Africa was barred from the Olympic Games and other global competitions, and throughout the 1970s most sports isolated the nation. Rugby was one of the last codes to break, but even there the "Halt All Racist Tours" movement in New Zealand and the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand – which saw pitch‑side protests, a chain‑fence torn down, flour‑bomb attacks and a cancelled match in Timaru – underscored the political tension.
A planned 1985 Test series was cancelled after New Zealand courts ruled it incompatible with the NZRFU’s purpose of promoting rugby. South Africa missed the first two Rugby World Cups (1987, 1991) and a 1986 British & Irish Lions tour was also called off. In 1986 a rebel side called the New Zealand Cavaliers toured South Africa without official sanction; participants were later banned from representing the All Blacks.
With apartheid ending, South Africa returned to the international stage in 1992, beating New Zealand 27‑24 at Ellis Park in their first post‑isolation Test. Nelson Mandela’s presidency from 1994 encouraged all South Africans to support the Springboks, who then toured New Zealand, losing two Tests and drawing one.
Later that year South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, where the All Blacks entered as heavy favourites after a dominant 315‑104 scoring record. In a dramatic final, the Springboks edged New Zealand 15‑12 after extra time, a match still surrounded by speculation about a possible food‑poisoning episode that afflicted many All Blacks players.
The following year the All Blacks toured South Africa, seeking revenge. After winning the inaugural 1996 Tri‑Nations, they swept a three‑Test series in South Africa, taking the first two matches and securing the series with a game to spare.
From 2001 to July 2004 the All Blacks went unbeaten against the Boks, winning 13 of 17 encounters. New Zealand then dominated the Tri‑Nations, capturing titles in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003 and a four‑year streak from 2005‑2008, plus further crowns in 2010, 2011‑2013 and 2016‑2018.
They also lifted the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015, the latter team often hailed as the greatest All Blacks side ever. South Africa’s fortunes fluctuated. After a disappointing 2007 World Cup, where France eliminated them and the Boks failed to win any major trophy between 2009‑2019, a low point arrived in September 2017 when they were thrashed 57‑0 by New Zealand in Albany, followed by heavy defeats to Ireland and Wales.
The arrival of Rassie Erasmus as head coach sparked a turnaround. In September 2018 the Springboks recorded a historic 36‑34 win in Wellington – their first victory on New Zealand soil since 2009.
A year later, South Africa captured their third World Cup title in Japan, beating England in the final after having eliminated the All Blacks in the pool stage. Since that triumph, the Springboks have enjoyed a favourable head‑to‑head record, winning seven of the last eleven Tests against New Zealand and securing Rugby Championship crowns in 2024 and 2025, as well as the 2023 World Cup final (a match in which the All Blacks fielded only 14 players due to injuries).
The current South African squad appears deeper and more versatile than ever, while New Zealand is in a rebuilding phase under new head coach Dave Rennie after the dismissal of Scott Robertson. Rennie has described the upcoming eight‑match tour – featuring four Tests, provincial games and a Lions fixture – as "the toughest tour in rugby," emphasizing its intensity and the unique opportunity it offers to test themselves against the sport’s benchmark team. The tour itinerary repeats the earlier provincial results: Stormers 21‑38, Sharks 0‑54, Bulls 19‑50, followed by the four Tests on 22 August (Ellis Park, Johannesburg), 29 August (Cape Town), 5 September (FNB Stadium, Johannesburg) and 12 September (Baltimore, USA). Fans can watch every minute of the eight‑match journey live on Sky Sports, with streaming available through NOW for those who prefer online access.