Following the announcement of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, we pick out our winners and losers.
With details of rugby’s worst-kept secret now made public, we dive into the details of the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa next year, where they are scheduled to face off against the four United Rugby Championship franchises and the Springboks on three occasions.
Winners
Gauteng
The Vaalies are quite simply the biggest winners as the City of Gold will not only host two of the Tests between the Springboks and All Blacks, the first at Ellis Park and the third at FNB Stadium, but will also be treated to two midweek fixtures with New Zealand playing both sides of the Juskei river against the Lions and Bulls – more than half the fixtures on South African soil.
One wouldn’t put it past many of those in the north flying down for the two matches on the coast either and doing so later in August for the second Test.
It’s certainly understandable the organisers’ train of thought as a game at the iconic Ellis Park is a must, given the history of the two sides at the venue, despite the ever-declining surrounding areas. Plus the return to FNB Stadium, South Africa’s biggest stadia, that hasn’t hosted a Bok Test match since 2013.
Hopefully, the bigger ground results in somewhat more affordable ticketing prices, but we highly doubt that, considering how the prices skyrocketed in 2025 for the matches against the Wallabies and Los Pumas.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: Details of All Blacks’ eight-game tour of South Africa confirmed
URC teams
Not since 1996 have the All Blacks faced off against South African provincial or franchise teams, but that will change with the return of traditional tours.
The Sean Fitzpatrick-captained side played the likes of Boland, Eastern Province, Western Transvaal and Griqualand West back then, but this time around will face the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls, and Lions, respectively.
While it’s a unique challenge for the New Zealanders, but much like a British and Irish Lions tour, it provides the opportunity for many local players to tackle an international team, many of whom won’t ever get that chance again.
For many South Africans, facing the All Blacks is the ultimate goal, but only a select few are afforded the opportunity to do so in the Springboks’ Green and Gold jersey. With the SA teams leaving Super Rugby, many of the players will be facing a Kiwi outfit for the first time.
SA and NZ Rugby
Two things can be true at once. The return of traditional tours can be a nod to the storied history of the rivalry and a money-making ploy. To their credit, SA Rugby and NZ Rugby haven’t hidden from the fact that the latter is just as important as the former for both unions, particularly after South Africa missed out on the financial windfall of the British and Irish Lions tour four years ago.
The fans
At least this time, the unions are still benefiting as much as the fans, delivering a product that the public can get excited about. Sure, the ticket prices are bound to be eye-watering, but it is for a unique occasion.
Sporting bodies are certainly guilty of exploiting the fans, but this does feel more like a fair trade-off.
This fixture list is definitely one that fans and players alike can get excited about.
Losers
Durban
The owners of holiday properties aside, the Durbanites will certainly feel hard done by, with none of the three Tests taking place on the East Coast.
Sure, the locals will be pleased that they could see the All Blacks in action at Kings Park for the first time since 2016 – when the New Zealanders thrashed the Boks 15-57 – but if this tour follows the same template as Lions tours, the Sharks are bound to face the men in black without their Springboks who are likely to be with the national squad.
As mentioned above, it’s clear that this is a money-making ploy and there is simply more cash to be made in Jo’burg, Soweto and Cape Town.
Eben Etzebeth slams Springboks teammates’ actions in record All Blacks loss that ‘silenced’ fans
Argentina and Australia
It’s still to be confirmed what exactly the Wallabies and Los Pumas will be up to during the international window when the All Blacks are touring South Africa, but surely one nation will tour the other.
It is a bittersweet feeling that the confirmation of the Greatest Rivalry tour comes following the most competitive Rugby Championship to date.
Argentina legend Agustin Pichot has branded the tour as a “selfish” decision from SA and NZ Rugby and frankly, he is not wrong.
“Unions make selfish decisions and I said it to them, that was a selfish decision,” Pichot told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“But I have to understand that they’re economically being challenged, and they need income. They thought that just by breaking away, they were going to get more genuine income.
“I don’t disagree with them on that economic part… but again, probably that decision to go with a short strategy and that short-sighted income, out of necessity, it’s a problem in rugby. You go into a more selfish standalone business unit and at the end of the day, it will have repercussions on your partners.”
For Australia and Argentina, those repercussions might not just be financial in 2026 but could impact their Rugby World Cup preparations.
“Smaller” franchises
Previously, the All Blacks have faced off against “smaller” unions in South Africa when touring the Republic, but this time around, it’s the four big franchises who will be tasked with upsetting the New Zealanders.
Again, it’s a real shame, but not overly surprising and completely understandable to maximise profits. Still, that won’t make the pill any easier to swallow for the Pumas and Griquas fans in Mbombela and Kimberley, never mind the Cheetahs in Bloem.
In 2009, the British and Irish Lions faced composite teams like the Royal XV and Emerging Springboks, which could have been scheduled this time around too, but perhaps that might change if the tours continue beyond 2030. The 2025 Lions tour to Australia proved that putting these kinds of teams together is somewhat of a logistical nightmare, which is perhaps what scared the bigwigs off, but it is the kind of fixture that really excites the fans.
This is possibly the biggest oversight/error the organisers have made.