All Blacks dig deep to deny Stormers in ill-disciplined RGR opener

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour for 2026 kicked off at DHL Stadium in Cape Town between the All Blacks and the Stormers, where Dave Rennie’s side have kickstarted the tour on a winning note.

The 38-21 victory over the Stormers for the All Blacks was a physical and energy-sapping contest, one that was in the balance for long periods.

John Dobson’s side put the All Blacks under immense amounts of pressure throughout the 80-minutes, creating a stop-start flow to the Greatest Rivalry battle.

Four-Test Springboks loose-forward Deon Fourie was a standout for the home side, while Junior Boks first-five Yaqeen Ahmed and Vernon Matongo had encouraging performances.

For the All Blacks, Rennie will be pleased to gain the services of Fabian Holland, who returned to the international frame after missing the whole Super Rugby Pacific season.

Leinster outside-back Rieko Ioane took some time to get into the contest, but looked at home during the second half, scoring the important go-ahead five-pointer. In the forward pack, Hurricanes No.8 Peter Lakai impressed with his dynamic skills around the paddock, while the impact from both Ollie Norris and Asafo Aumua was strong.

The All Blacks were direct from the get-go, showcasing their attacking game plan in the opening minutes.

All Blacks veteran Beauden Barrett was influential from minute one, shifting the ball onto teammates with intent.

The away side made their first line break through Hurricanes No.8 Peter Lakai, off a short ball by Barrett, storming upfield before being taken down inside the Stormers’ half.

Rieko Ioane made two nice carries before being dragged out, but the intent and lightning-quick speed of the All Blacks’ attack was clear from the start.

Samisoni Taukei’aho and the All Blacks lineout was brought down illegally shortly after, gifting the Chiefs hooker another opportunity a minute later. Taukei’aho’s throw was perfect, finding Fabian Holland, as they charged towards the line to dot down for the first try of the Greatest Rivalry Tour.

Barrett converted, giving the All Blacks a 7-0 lead after 6 minutes.

Barrett, at his instinctual best, saw space behind the Stormers defence in midfield, opting for a grubber kick which he toed ahead and just failed to regather close to the line.

Stormers and Springboks loosie Deon Fourie carried powerfully in midfield, kickstarting what was a strong ten-minute period for the South African side.

The All Blacks were pinged three times by English referee Karl Dickson in a matter of minutes, resulting in a yellow card for Anton Lienert-Brown, after a high shot in midfield.

Rennie’s side absorbed pressure from the Stormers at multiple rolling mauls, but it was only a matter of time before the Stormers hit back.

All Blacks No.6 Simon Parker was identified as the culprit for dragging down a maul where Andre-Hugo Venter thought he had scored the Stormers’ first, putting Rennie’s All Blacks down to 13-men in the 12th minute.

Minutes later, down the same corner of the field, 13-Test hooker Fourie powered over the line from a dominant rolling-maul to level the scores after 15 energy-sapping minutes in Cape Town.

Both teams had moments in the middle period of the first 40 minutes, where several scrums were packed down at DHL Stadium, largely dominated by the Stormers, particularly Vernon Matongo.

Warrick Gelant then provided the Stormers with an important turnover at the breakdown in the 34th minute, just as the All Blacks started to put phases together in the home side’s half.

Off the back of a scrum in midfield, Ioane made a small break after Lienert-Brown’s tip pass got him through a weak shoulder. The Stormers then forced an error from Anton Segner, but Holland picked off the following lineout and gifted the All Blacks possession inside their attacking half.

Ioane weighed up his options with ball in hand, throwing a dummy to make an electric break deep inside the Stormers’ half. Dobson’s Stormers were penalised shortly after, but the All Blacks had no intention of slowing the game down, taking a quick tap and spreading the ball to the wide left channel.

Billy Proctor fired a cut-out ball to Holland, who showed soft hands to put Parker over in the corner. Barrett added the extras just before halftime, despite being close to the sideline.

HT: 14-7 to the All Blacks.

Dobson’s side started the second half on the front foot in Cape Town, building nicely as their ball carriers constantly reached the gain line.

Barrett was penalised for impeding Seabelo Senatla in the air, gifting the Stormers a prime opportunity to launch themselves back into the contest.

The home side secured the lineout, setting up the driving maul close to the line. The Stormers coughed up a close carry towards the five-metre line, letting the All Blacks off shortly after halftime.

Ahmed identified a lapse in concentration by the All Blacks’ defence after giving away a penalty, taking a quick-tap down the right-hand touchline.

It was a dangerous break, stopped by Leroy Carter, crucially, at a breakdown deep inside the All Blacks’ half.

Fourie, who proved difficult to contain on both sides of the ball, turned to provider for the Stormers’ second try, off the back of a lineout just inside the All Blacks half.

Fourie picked up the ball from the lineout, darted towards the midfield defence of the All Blacks before throwing an inch-perfect short ball to Senatla, who pierced straight through and under the posts. Ahmed converted, levelling the scores after 56 minutes.

The All Blacks earned an important scrum penalty just inside the Stormers half, with Cortez Ratima taking the quick tap, instead of kicking for the corner.

Rennie’s side started to shift the ball and get over the advantage line, through the likes of Sam Darry and Patrick Tuipulotu. The captain’s carry forced several Stormers defenders to enter the ruck, providing Ioane with space close to the line, fending off one to take the lead with just over ten minutes to play.

The visitors then started to find their groove with ball in hand, threatening once again down the right-hand side. Lakai found himself in space, shifting it to Carter who had multiple Stormers defenders to beat.

He beat one with a right-foot step, before fending away a second to dot down and seal the victory for Rennie’s side. All Blacks debutant Josh Jacomb added the extras, extending the lead to 14.

Jacomb then kicked a ball ahead off broken play which was chased hard by Josh Moorby, eventually charging it down. Moorby then regathered, sliding in to score his first All Blacks try.

But, just as you thought the contest was all over, Rennie’s side were put under pressure yet again by their own discipline.

Moorby made a superb recovering tackle deep inside his half, but the try-scorer rolled over and stopped the Stormers from planting the ball down, resulting in a yellow card and a penalty try.

In the final play of the first Greatest Rivalry Tour game, Asafo Aumua bagged a late five-pointer from a rolling maul, on the back of a powerful All Blacks scrum.

FT: 38-21 to the All Blacks over the Stormers.