In 2026 the regular Rugby Championship is on pause, but a nostalgic tour is taking place as New Zealand’s All Blacks travel 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 decorated rugby nations.
So far the All Blacks have dispatched the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, and they will meet the Springboks in Tests on 22 August, 29 August, 5 September and 12 September. The schedule is as follows: - 7 August: Stormers 21‑38 New Zealand (Cape Town) - 11 August: Sharks 0‑54 New Zealand (Durban) - 15 August: Bulls 19‑50 New Zealand (Pretoria) - 22 August: South Africa vs New Zealand – FIRST TEST, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (4:10 pm BST) - 25 August: Lions vs New Zealand (Johannesburg, 6 pm BST) - 29 August: South Africa vs New Zealand – SECOND TEST, Cape Town (4:10 pm BST) - 5 September: South Africa vs New Zealand – THIRD TEST, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (4:10 pm BST) - 12 September: South Africa vs New Zealand – FOURTH TEST, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, USA (10 pm BST) The rivalry dates back to 13 August 1921, when the Springboks arrived in New Zealand for a three‑Test tour. The All Blacks won the opening match at Carisbrook, Dunedin 13‑5, but South Africa answered a week later at Eden Park 9‑5, and the third Test in Wellington ended in a 0‑0 draw, leaving the series level at 1‑1.
Since that inaugural encounter the two sides have met in roughly 110 Test matches, with New Zealand winning 63, South Africa 43 and four games ending in a tie. Home‑and‑away statistics underline the balance of power.
In South Africa there have been 54 Tests, the hosts triumphing 28 times, the All Blacks 25 times and one draw. In New Zealand there have been 48 Tests, with the All Blacks victorious 34 times, the Springboks 11 times and three draws. World Cup history adds further drama.
The Springboks have bested New Zealand in two finals – 1995 and 2023 – and also won a third‑place playoff in 1999. Conversely, the All Blacks have knocked the Boks out in the 2015 semi‑final, the 2003 quarter‑final and the 2023 pool stage. After the 1921 series, the sides met again in 1927 when New Zealand toured South Africa; the four‑match series ended 2‑2, each nation taking two wins. South Africa then enjoyed a period of dominance, winning a 2‑1 series in New Zealand in 1937 and sweeping a 4‑0 home series in 1949.
New Zealand turned the tables in 1956 with a 3‑1 home series win, but the Boks reclaimed a 2‑1 series victory on home soil in 1960. The rivalry was profoundly affected by South Africa’s apartheid policy (1948‑1994). The regime barred mixed‑race competition, prompting New Zealand to omit Māori players from several tours, a decision that sparked public protests, especially during the 1960 tour.
International isolation followed: South Africa was barred from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, expelled from the IOC in 1970, and excluded from tennis and the Davis Cup. While many sports cut ties, rugby lingered longer, with tours continuing amid growing opposition. In 1965 the Springboks toured New Zealand and lost three of four Tests. The New Zealand anti‑tour group Halt All Racist Tours formed in 1969, intensifying pressure.
The 1970 All Blacks tour of South Africa ended in a 3‑1 series loss for New Zealand. A planned 1973 New Zealand tour was cancelled, yet matches still occurred in 1976 (South Africa winning 3‑1 at home) and 1981 (New Zealand winning 2‑1 amid massive protests).
The 1981 tour saw two games halted: in Hamilton protestors ripped down a fence, scattered nails on the pitch and staged a sit‑in; a Timaru match was called off for security concerns. The final Test was disrupted by an aircraft dropping flour bombs, flares and leaflets, briefly stunning All Blacks prop Gary Knight. A 1985 series was blocked by a New Zealand court ruling that it conflicted with the NZRFU’s purpose of fostering rugby, and the Springboks missed the first two Rugby World Cups (1987, 1991). In 1986 a rebel side, the New Zealand Cavaliers, toured South Africa without official sanction; participating players were later banned from Test selection, and some never returned to the national team.
With apartheid’s end, South Africa re‑entered international sport. The first post‑isolation Test against New Zealand came in 1992, with the Springboks pulling off a surprise 27‑24 win at Ellis Park. Nelson Mandela, elected president in 1994, urged all South Africans to support the once‑reviled Springboks.
That year the Boks toured New Zealand, losing two Tests and drawing one, before hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Ranked ninth after years of exile, South Africa stunned the world by reaching the 1995 final, where they defeated a heavily favoured All Blacks 15‑12 in extra time at Ellis Park. Controversy still swirls around that match, with claims that many New Zealand players suffered food‑borne illness before the final – a theory popularised by then‑coach Laurie Mains and a private investigator, though never proven.
The following year the All Blacks toured South Africa seeking revenge. After winning the inaugural 1996 Tri‑Nations, they took a three‑Test tour, winning the first two matches (23‑19 in Durban, 33‑26 in Pretoria) and securing the series with a game to spare. Although South Africa won the third Test, New Zealand went on to dominate the next 17 encounters, remaining unbeaten against the Boks from 2001 to July 2004 and collecting Tri‑Nations titles in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003. South Africa captured Tri‑Nations crowns in 2004 and 2009, but New Zealand’s supremacy was evident with four consecutive titles from 2005‑2008, another in 2010, and three‑year streaks from 2011‑2013 and 2016‑2018.
The All Blacks also won the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015, the latter team often hailed as the greatest ever side. South Africa broke a decade‑long drought by winning the 2007 World Cup, but then endured a barren spell from 2009‑2019.
2017 marked a low point for the Springboks: they were thrashed 57‑0 by New Zealand in Albany and suffered heavy defeats to Ireland and Wales later that year. After a string of losses in 2016‑2017, the South African Rugby Union appointed Rassie Erasmus as head coach. Erasmus revitalised the squad, and in September 2018 the Boks achieved a historic 36‑34 win in Wellington – their first victory on New Zealand soil since 2009. A year later, South Africa claimed their third World Cup title, beating England in the 2019 final in Japan.
Their path had included a semi‑final victory over the All Blacks, who had earlier eliminated the Springboks in the pool stage. Since that triumph, the Springboks have won seven of the eleven Tests played against New Zealand, secured Rugby Championship crowns in 2024 and 2025, and captured the 2023 Rugby World Cup, albeit in a final where the All Blacks fielded only fourteen players due to injuries. The current South African side is considered deeper and more robust than ever, while the All Blacks are in a rebuilding phase under new coach Dave Rennie after the dismissal of Scott Robertson.
Rennie acknowledged the difficulty of the upcoming tour, noting that eight matches in six weeks, including a four‑Test series against the world’s benchmark team, would be "the toughest tour in rugby." He added that the intensity of the schedule would provide a valuable chance to test the squad and forge connections that only a tour of this magnitude can deliver. Fans can follow every minute of the All Blacks’ eight‑match South African adventure live on Sky Sports, with streaming available via NOW. The tour not only showcases elite rugby but also commemorates a rivalry that has shaped the sport for a century, reflecting both on‑field brilliance and the broader social and political currents that have intersected with the game.