Springboks vs All Blacks | Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: All the RESULTS
The All Blacks are set to revive one of rugby's greatest traditions when they embark on an unprecedented eight-match tour of South Africa and the United States.
Black News 
The All Blacks are set to revive one of rugby’s greatest traditions when they embark on an unprecedented eight-match tour of South Africa and the United States, rekindling a format that has been absent from the international game for three decades.
Dubbed “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry”, the 2026 tour will see New Zealand take on South Africa’s four United Rugby Championship franchises before contesting a four-Test Freedom Cup series against the Springboks.
The tour marks the first return to the traditional touring format between the two nations since the launch of the Tri-Nations in 1996.
Rugby’s classic tours return
Following an agreement between the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR), the two rugby powerhouses have brought back the extended bilateral tours that helped shape the sport’s rich history.
Instead of meeting only during the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks will spend more than a month on South African soil, recreating the touring experience that produced some of rugby’s most memorable contests.
As part of the new international calendar, the Rugby Championship will become a biennial competition from 2027.
Provincial giants await
Before taking on the world champion Springboks, New Zealand will test themselves against each of South Africa’s four United Rugby Championship franchises.
The tour opens on Friday, 7 August against the Stormers in Cape Town before clashes with the Sharks in Durban, the Bulls in Pretoria and the Lions in Johannesburg.
The fixtures offer South Africa’s top franchises a rare opportunity to face the All Blacks, while giving the visitors valuable match practice ahead of the Test series.
Freedom Cup expanded to four Tests
The highlight of the tour will be a historic four-match Freedom Cup series between rugby’s two most successful nations.
The first three Tests will be played in South Africa before the series concludes in Baltimore, where the Springboks and All Blacks will meet in the United States for the first time.
The expanded series is expected to provide one of the toughest examinations either side has faced in the professional era.
Women’s rugby joins the occasion
The tour will also celebrate the growth of the women’s game, with the Springbok Women taking on the reigning world champion Black Ferns in a curtain-raiser before the third Test at FNB Stadium on 5 September.
A rivalry renewed
Few rivalries in world sport carry the history and prestige of clashes between the Springboks and the All Blacks.
With more than a century of fierce competition behind them, the revival of traditional tours promises to reconnect rugby with one of its most iconic customs, giving supporters weeks of elite rugby while providing both nations with an ideal platform to build towards the next Rugby World Cup.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry fixtures and results
- Friday, 7 August: Stormers vs New Zealand, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – 19:00
- Tuesday, 11 August: Sharks vs New Zealand, Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban – 19:00
- Saturday, 15 August: Bulls vs New Zealand, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – 19:00
- Saturday, 22 August: First Test, Ellis Park, Johannesburg – 17:10
- Tuesday, 25 August: Lions vs New Zealand, Ellis Park, Johannesburg – 19:00
- Saturday, 29 August: Second Test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – 17:10
- Saturday, 5 September: Third Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg – 17:10
- Saturday, 12 September: Fourth Test, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, United States – 23:00 (SA time)
