Joburg to host two Tests on All Blacks’ historic full tour return to SA in 2026

After a 30-year hiatus, the All Blacks will undertake a full tour to South Africa in 2026, to play three Tests and four matches against United Rugby Championship (URC) clubs.

Ellis Park and the 90,000-capacity FNB Stadium will host the first and third Tests, while Cape Town’s DHL Stadium will host the second Test.

Although the Kiwis are regular visitors to the country for one-off and occasionally two Tests as part of the Rugby Championship, this is the first “proper” tour, dubbed “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” (RGR), in three decades.

The last time the All Blacks were in South Africa for a three-Test series in 1996, Sean Fitzpatrick’s men famously claimed a 2-1 series win. It was the first and only time New Zealand have won a full series in South Africa.

Next year’s tour, which Daily Maverick reported on more than a year ago, will replace the Rugby Championship in 2026. But the Rugby Championship will return for editions in 2027, 2028 and 2029 before the Boks tour New Zealand in 2030 for a reciprocal RGR in 2030.

The eight-match tour will feature games against the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – and three Tests in South Africa. A fourth Test at a neutral venue – possibly London – will bookend the tour.

“This fierce competition between two very proud nations has delivered more than a century of drama on rugby fields across the world, including two Rugby World Cup finals,” South African Rugby Union (Saru) chief executive Rian Oberholzer said.

“We saw last year how much it means for Springbok supporters to welcome the All Blacks to South Africa, and we can’t wait to see them tour our country next year as we rekindle our friendship with our greatest adversaries.

“Today’s announcement promises more drama, physicality, strategy and unpredictability in a rivalry regarded as one of the most intense in world sport.

“This tour will also mean so much for our four franchises and their players – facing one of the best teams in the history of the game – as well as their fans, who will have the opportunity to see their team in action against international opposition for the first time since 2009. We know next year’s tour will be nothing short of epic.”

Read more: Pinnacle of rugby: Fitzpatrick lauds decision to resume Springboks and All Blacks’ epic touring rivalry

Diluted

While the concept of a long tour faces significant challenges in the professional era due to crowded calendars and player welfare needs, it does at least hark back to the amateur era.

Provincial players, who might never play Test rugby, will have the chance to face the All Blacks in one of the tour games outside the Tests.

Ideally, Springbok players who might feature in the Tests would also be available for their clubs against the All Blacks. 

But Bok coach Rassie Erasmus suggested that releasing Test players for the so-called “midweek games”, even though some are on a Saturday, would be impractical.

In the recent British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, Wallaby Test players did not feature in provincial matches, which led to some one-sided results and criticism of the format.

“It’s difficult to answer your question,” Erasmus said in response to Daily Maverick’s enquiry.

“If there are some players who are maybe out of form and need game time, or coming back from injury through return-to-play (protocols), maybe. It’s very tough if players are in camp preparing for the Greatest Rivalry.

“The priority is to win the Test series. I guess we will have 36 players in our squad next year for the series, and some might need to play. But I can’t give you an exact answer at this stage.”

It appears, therefore, that Bok players selected for the Test series against the All Blacks will remain focused on that task.

Respected Bok loosehead prop Ox Nche, who plays his rugby for the Sharks, admitted that he would relish the opportunity to play against the All Blacks in his club jersey.

“It depends on the scheduling, but if there is an opportunity to play for the union and the Boks against the All Blacks, I’d enjoy that,” Nche said.

“I mean, as much as we have a system at the Sharks, it would be great to play (against the All Blacks) with slightly less pressure, I guess. It would be a great experience to play alongside guys who might never play Test rugby, in such a big game.”

Thawed relations

While Saru and New Zealand Rugby have not made themselves popular with the move to a bilateral series at the expense of the Rugby Championship in 2026 and 2030, commercial considerations drove it.

This signals a distinct thawing of relations between Saru and NZR, which were strained when the Kiwis abruptly and unilaterally declared they were exiting Super Rugby at the height of the Covid pandemic in mid-2020. 

That pushed Saru and South African rugby north at provincial level, which resulted in the establishment of the URC, and entry for the top teams into the European Champions and Challenge Cups.

South Africa has benefited from strong competition for its four major teams and European exposure. 

New Zealand rugby has dominated the revamped Super Rugby Pacific as its clubs dominate teams from Australia, Fiji and Samoa. 

With global rugby struggling to grow outside its traditional bases, this decision by Saru and NZR to work towards resurrecting old-style tours makes sense.

The All Blacks and the Springboks are the two most successful rugby nations on earth. They have won seven of the 10 Rugby World Cups staged so far, and have been on top of the world rankings for much of the time since they were introduced in 2003.

Daily Maverick understands that income, in terms of commercial value and broadcasting rights for the tour, will be shared evenly, although the home union will take a larger share of the ticket and match-day revenue.

Both the Boks and the All Blacks, as well as Saru and NZR, have commercial and sponsorship partners that might clash, or be competitors in the same market.

Part of the negotiations have centred on what is “sacred” and what is not. In other words, whose branding might go where. While it sounds like a small thing, millions of dollars were at play.

Rugby Championship not dead

Despite much speculation in recent weeks, the tour will not kill off the Rugby Championship, which has been the backbone of southern hemisphere Test rugby for 30 years.

Although next year’s edition will not take place, the 2027 edition will be a full double round, even though it is a World Cup year.

South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby (Sanzaar) confirmed the schedule on Thursday.

It’s a packed calendar in the next few years with World Rugby’s new tournament, the Nations Championship, set to be played in 2026, 2028 and 2030.

The Nations Championship concept will see the 12 biggest rugby nations in the world meeting every two years across two rounds of fixtures in July and November, to decide the dominant nation and the balance of power between rugby’s hemispheres.

“The Sanzaar partnership has played an important role in growing the popularity and prosperity of rugby worldwide, and Rugby Australia is excited to enter into a new five-year cycle alongside our great rivals South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina,” a statement by Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said.

“We are particularly looking forward to the Southern Hemisphere’s pre-eminent tournament, The Rugby Championship, playing in full in 2027, 2028 and 2029.” DM

 Tour fixtures 2026

Friday, 7 August: Stormers v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Tuesday, 11 August: Sharks v New Zealand at Kings Park, Durban

Saturday, 15 August: Bulls v New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Saturday, 22 August: First Test – South Africa v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Tuesday, 25 August: Lions v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Saturday, 29 August: Second Test – South Africa v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Saturday, 5 September: Third Test – South Africa v New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg

Saturday, 12 September: Fourth Test – South Africa v New Zealand (venue to be announced)