In 2026 there is no Rugby Championship, but there is a throwback-type tour which sees New Zealand's All Blacks visit South Africa for eight matches, including four Tests against the Springboks, live on Sky Sports. It's been advertised in New Zealand and South Africa as "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour." A series of games to celebrate over a century of contests between the two most successful nations the sport has seen. The All Blacks have already played and beaten the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls so far, and face the Springboks in Tests on August 22, August 29, September 5 and September 12.
So, what is the history between the two? And what have been the flashpoints and major moments over the decades? Friday August 7: Stormers 21-38 New Zealand, Cape Town Tuesday August 11: Sharks 0-54 New Zealand, Durban Saturday August 15: Bulls 19-50 New Zealand, Pretoria Saturday August 22: South Africa vs New Zealand (FIRST TEST), Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg (4.10pm BST) Tuesday August 25: Lions vs New Zealand, Johannesburg (6pm BST) Saturday August 29: South Africa vs New Zealand (SECOND TEST), Cape Town (4.10pm BST) Saturday September 5: South Africa vs New Zealand (THIRD TEST), FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (4.10pm BST) Saturday September 12: South Africa vs New Zealand (FOURTH TEST), M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore USA (10pm BST) New Zealand and South Africa first met on August 13, 1921 in Carisbrook, Dunedin as part of South Africa's three-Test tour, with the All Blacks coming out with a 13-5 victory.
South Africa won a week later at Eden Park 9-5, with the third Test a 0-0 draw in Wellington to see the series end 1-1. And so set in motion a rugby rivalry which has endured right at the apex of the sport. That first match included, there have been some 110 Test meetings, the All Blacks winning 63, South Africa 43 and four draws.
There have been 54 Tests played in South Africa, with the hosts winning 28, New Zealand 25 and one draw, while 48 Tests in New Zealand have seen the All Blacks win 34, Springboks 11 and three draws. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player At Rugby World Cups, South Africa have beaten New Zealand in two dramatic finals (1995, 2023), and in one third-place playoff (1999), while New Zealand have beaten South Africa in the 2015 semi-finals, 2003 quarter-finals and 2023 pool stages. After that original 1921 tour, the next time the sides met came in 1927 when New Zealand toured South Africa and again, the series finished in a captivating draw: 2-2 this time with wins for the Boks in Durban and Port Elizabeth, and wins for the All Blacks in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
South Africa won the next two series between the sides, touring New Zealand in 1937 and winning 2-1, while hosting the All Blacks in 1949 and winning 4-0. In 1956, New Zealand get their own back as they clinched a 3-1 home series success over the Springboks, though 1960 saw South Africa back to winning ways via a 2-1 series win back on home soil. Between 1948 and 1994, though, South Africa enforced apartheid, the institutionalised racial segregation and white minority rule.
As part of this shameful system, South Africa refused to allow people of different races to play sport together, with officials requesting Māori players not be involved in series between the nations. New Zealand agreed and excluded some of their finest players from several tours, with the first major public protests coming during that 1960 tour to South Africa. By 1964, South Africa as a sporting nation were barred from participating at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and in 1970 they were formally expelled from the International Olympic Committee.
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