All Blacks and Springboks confirm Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 2026 tour details

After much speculation and excitement, ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ has been confirmed for 2026, with South Africa hosting New Zealand in a four-Test series, and additional games between the All Blacks and South Africa’s URC clubs. In 2030, New Zealand will return the favour and host South Africa for their first tour of the Shaky Isles in the professional era.

It will have been 30 years since the Kiwis last toured the Rainbow Nation when the tour kicks off against the Stormers in Cape Town on August 7. Matches against the Sharks, Bulls, and Lions will follow, then the four Tests, completing the eight-match tour. The venues for three of the four Test matches have been revealed as Johannesburg’s Ellis Park, Cape Town’s DHL Stadium, and then Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, with the fourth venue unconfirmed but set to take the tour to a different nation altogether.

With such a storied rivalry both on the pitch and off it, the series has been branded “a tour like no other”, with tickets set to go on sale early in the new year.

Braxton Sorensen-McGee’s Top 3 Tries from Rugby World Cup 2025 | RPTV

Top try-scorer at Rugby World Cup 2025, 18-year-old Black Ferns sensation Braxton Sorensen-McGee lit up the tournament. Here are three of her best, and you can also watch all 11 that she scored, now on RugbyPass TV.

Watch Now

Braxton Sorensen-McGee’s Top 3 Tries from Rugby World Cup 2025 | RPTV

Top try-scorer at Rugby World Cup 2025, 18-year-old Black Ferns sensation Braxton Sorensen-McGee lit up the tournament. Here are three of her best, and you can also watch all 11 that she scored, now on RugbyPass TV.

Watch Now

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said: “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.

“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.”

Mark Robinson, New Zealand Rugby CEO added: “The rivalry between the All Blacks and the Springboks is fierce, but it’s also steeped in history and respect. Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry is everything that is great about ?traditional rugby tours whilst finding new ways to offer more for fans to see and engage with. All eight matches during this tour will be a showcase of our sport for fans, whether they are in New Zealand, on the ground in South Africa, or across the globe.”

Back-to-back Rugby World Cup winning Springbok Captain, Siya Kolisi said: “This is going to be something huge and something this generation will never forget. These are the tours we’ve only heard of. To experience this for the first time, where it’s like a Lions tour, is unbelievable for us as a group.

“I have no doubt the Springbok fans will be there waiting to welcome the All Blacks fans to South Africa. Let’s get excited; let’s get behind it and, people of South Africa, it’s an opportunity for us to show the world once again who we are and what we are about – we certainly can’t wait for it.”

All Blacks Captain Scott Barrett said: “This is a huge rivalry, and one that is founded off mutual respect, but for 80 minutes these are two teams that every time they play there’s everything on the line. The intensity is right up there, and it is shaping up to be a heck of a tour. The format will be great, and there will be a whole lot of excited fans watching from home and travelling with us as well. We are looking forward to it.”

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour fixtures 2026
Friday 7 August: Stormers v New Zealand, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Tuesday 11 August: Sharks v New Zealand, Kings Park, Durban
Saturday 15 August: Bulls v New Zealand, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Saturday 22 August: South Africa v New Zealand, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (first Test)
Tuesday 25 August: Lions v New Zealand, Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Saturday 29 August: South Africa v New Zealand, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (second Test)
Saturday 5 September: South Africa v New Zealand, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (third Test)
Saturday 12 September: South Africa v New Zealand. Venue to be announced (fourth Test)