Thirty years have passed since the All Blacks last toured South Africa. Ben Francis speaks with players from the historic 1996 series win over the Springboks.
“As much as I loved winning the World Cup, ’96 would rate right up there with anything I achieved.”
If Sean Fitzpatrick’s words
don’t capture the significance of the All Blacks’ first test series victory in South Africa, nothing will.
Thirty years ago, Fitzpatrick led a 36-man squad into the Republic on a daunting six-week tour that many believed could not be won.
By the end of it, it had become one of the defining moments in New Zealand rugby history.
Their crowning moment came on August 24, 1996, when the All Blacks produced one of the greatest performances in their history, defeating the Springboks 33-26 at Loftus Versfeld to clinch their first test series victory on South African soil.
Five previous tours had ended in disappointment.
Under Fitzpatrick’s captaincy, however, the All Blacks finally achieved what generations before them could not.
It was a victory more than six decades in the making.
The inaugural tour in 1928 ended in a 2-2 draw. Twenty-one years later, the Springboks completed a 4-0 whitewash of the All Blacks in 1949.
Another opportunity came in 1960, but South Africa again prevailed, winning the series 2-1 with one test drawn.
The tour was also overshadowed by controversy after the New Zealand Rugby Football Union complied with South Africa’s apartheid policies by excluding Māori players.
More than 150,000 people signed a petition opposing the tour.
A planned 1967 tour was cancelled by the New Zealand Government, but the All Blacks returned three years later after New Zealand players were granted “honorary white” status.
Once again, the Springboks emerged victorious, claiming the series 3-1.
The 1976 tour sparked international condemnation and contributed to the boycott of the Montreal Olympics by more than 20 African nations after the International Olympic Committee declined to suspend New Zealand.
On the field, South Africa again won the series 3-1.
The Springboks also toured New Zealand six times between 1921 and 1994. The first series ended in a draw before South Africa won in 1937, while the All Blacks claimed the remaining contests.
The 1981 tour became one of the most divisive episodes in New Zealand sporting history, culminating in the cancellation of the Waikato match after protesters invaded the pitch.
Despite those battles, one afternoon at Loftus Versfeld stands above the rest.
Highlighting the significance of beating the Springboks in South Africa, Fitzpatrick rates it above winning the inaugural Rugby World Cup.
He and Sir Michael Jones were the only two starters from 1987 to play in the series-clinching test.
“In 1987, [All Blacks coach] Brian Lochore said: ‘It’s your chance to be the first team to win the Rugby World Cup ever’,” Fitzpatrick told the Herald from his home in London.
“We played six games, won six games, and we were the world champions and then back to work on Monday.
“We didn’t really sort of understand [the history], and there were Northern Hemisphere teams that didn’t want the World Cup.
“But in 1996, we knew exactly what we were doing. We knew the history and then to create that history was really special.”
Michael Jones leads the All Blacks out on to the field in Pretoria in what was his 50th test. Photo / Photosport
The day history was made in Pretoria
The All Blacks arrived at Loftus Versfeld with a 1-0 series lead after a hard-fought 23-19 victory in Durban – but more on that later.
They knew victory at one of world rugby’s most daunting venues would secure a place in history.
The coach of the side that day, John Hart said while every test was treated the same, everyone understood the significance of the challenge that awaited in Pretoria.
“South Africa at home are a huge beast and we knew that we had to get one up to make sure we were really in the fight,” Hart told the Herald.
“Going to Johannesburg, as it turned out, would have been a really huge task at the end of a tour, end of a year really. We knew we had to win in South Africa and so to win the series we really had to win the first two games.”
The physical toll of a gruelling season only heightened the challenge.
By the second test, the All Blacks were battered and bruised, but there was no thought of saving themselves for Johannesburg.
“Pretoria came with a lot of pressure,” legendary centre Frank Bunce said.
“We were both in the same boat, we both wanted to finish the series in Pretoria and they were determined to be able to go to Jo’burg and I think they would have been pretty confident.
“By that time, we were training I think once a week because everyone was battered and bruised and we had the midweek stuff going on.
”The mindset really was that we needed to finish it in Pretoria. It was just a time when that was all that mattered, you just had to give everything you had.”
From the opening exchanges, it was evident the match would be played at a frantic pace, with both sides prepared to attack from almost anywhere.
The Springboks struck first when Hannes Strydom crashed over in the corner, although Joel Stransky’s conversion attempt struck the upright.
New Zealand’s first chance to respond disappeared when Simon Culhane pushed a penalty wide, but the miss proved inconsequential.
From the ensuing dropout, the All Blacks launched a counter-attack. Justin Marshall sliced through the defence before the ball found winger Jeff Wilson, who crossed for the opening try.
A Stransky penalty restored South Africa’s lead, but Wilson answered with one of the great tries of the series.
From a scrum inside the All Blacks’ half, he burst into space, chipped over André Joubert, regathered and raced away to score. Culhane converted to put New Zealand back in front.
After another missed Stransky penalty, the All Blacks struck again just before halftime.
From a scrum close to the line, Marshall combined with Bunce before No 8 Zinzan Brooke finished a clever wraparound move.
Stransky kicked a penalty on the stroke of halftime, but the All Blacks still held a 21-11 advantage.
Culhane extended the lead with an early penalty after the break before Stransky missed his third shot at goal.
The momentum then swung dramatically. Ruben Kruger and Joost van der Westhuizen crossed within five minutes to drag South Africa back to within a point.
Stransky had the chance to give the Springboks the lead, but for the second time his kick cannoned into the upright.
Then came the moment that won the series. From the restart, the All Blacks secured possession before earning a penalty about 40m from goal.
Jon Preston kicks a penalty goal during the All Blacks’ win over the Springboks in Pretoria. Photo / Photosport
Fitzpatrick initially wanted Wilson to take the kick, but Jon Preston, who had moments earlier replaced the injured Culhane, insisted he wanted it. He never looked like missing.
“I was fortunate with the first one because that was my first touch of the ball after I’d come onto the field, so I didn’t have a hell of a lot of time to think about it,” Preston told the Herald.
“When you’re on the bench, particularly in those days, we only really came on when someone was injured.
“So you just sit there and then all of a sudden, bang, there’s an injury and you don’t have much time to think about it, you’re on, you’re into it.”
Stransky reduced the deficit to a single point with a penalty in the 73rd minute. Then, with five minutes remaining, the All Blacks won another penalty just inside their own half.
Once again, Preston stepped forward. Once again, he delivered.
“Thinking back, they were the biggest kicks of my career,” Preston said.
“I definitely felt some nerves at the start, but once I got into the game and played a bit of footy, then you’re a bit more in the groove.
“Probably because the other one was longer, there was slightly less expectation.”
Hart still has a nickname for Preston: “The Cleaner”.
“It’s exactly what I expected of him,” Hart said. “He is so calm and we chose him because he could play nine and 10.
“We lost Andrew Mehrtens before the second test, and when Culhane went off we were very lucky to have someone like Jon come on.
“His calmness and his ability to help us through that challenge … because that last 20 minutes was one of the most ferocious 20 minutes I’ve seen in any rugby game.”
Brooke added a late drop goal to stretch the lead to seven points, but there was still time for one final Springboks assault.
Wave after wave of green jerseys crashed towards the line until South Africa found itself less than a metre away.
Rather than spread the ball wide, the Springboks continued to pick and drive before being held up over the line.
For a brief moment, nobody moved. Then referee Didier Mené blew his whistle. The All Blacks collapsed to the turf in exhaustion.
After almost seven decades of trying, they had finally conquered South Africa on its own soil.
Bunce admitted there was one moment in those frantic closing seconds when he feared the series might still slip away.
“Right at the end of the match where everyone was just throwing themselves around and I think myself and Walter Little were right by the post, and we had maybe one person outside of us, so had they decided to spin it wide all of a sudden we might have got caught out.”
The All Blacks celebrate their win over the Springboks in Pretoria. Photo / Photosport
When the whistle blew
Hands rested on knees while others simply collapsed to the turf in exhaustion before the thought of celebrating crossed their minds.
“History has been made. The players are exhausted. What a game we have seen,” commentator Keith Quinn said.
The entire All Blacks forward pack had started every test that year, playing virtually every minute, and the physical toll was unmistakable.
The celebrations were subdued at first. It took a few moments for the magnitude of what had been achieved to sink in.
Hart said two moments have stayed with him ever since.
“You’ve got guys like Fitzpatrick, Zinzan Brooke, Olo Brown, they’re just lying on the ground, they’re all devastated, they’re absolutely shattered, they’ve given every inch they could,” Hart said.
“Then coming off the field to show just what we were, a haka led by Jonah [Lomu], Eric Rush, Carlos Spencer, Todd Blackadder, that was pretty special and that showed just exactly what we’d gone out to achieve, that we were one team and that one team performed on and off the field that day.“
The haka performed by players who had not featured in the test – affectionately known as the “dirt trackers” – remains one of the defining memories of the tour.
A haka is preformed by the non-playing All Blacks after their win over the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
Preston said it was among the biggest talking points when the squad reunited 30 years later.
“That was certainly an overriding memory and I think the whole group got on really well on that tour and was able to have a lot of fun as well as do the job on the field,“ Preston said.
As the celebrations continued, the players walked towards the changing rooms, where another moment brought home the significance of what they had achieved.
Waiting in the tunnel was former All Blacks fullback Don Clarke, a member of New Zealand’s unsuccessful 1960 tour, who had waited 36 years to see an All Blacks side conquer South Africa.
Sean Fitzpatrick and John Hart in the sheds after the All Blacks’ win over the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
Clarke, known as “The Boot” for his renowned goal-kicking ability, had later settled in South Africa with his family.
“He hugged me, tears rolling down his face, and thanked me for doing something that no other All Black has ever done, to win a test series in South Africa,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He said he can die a happy man, which sums up the All Black feeling behind it.“
For Hart, Clarke’s reaction illustrated how much the victory meant beyond the players who had won it.
“Players like Sean Fitzpatrick and Zinzan Brooke really understood the history, but a young player like Christian Cullen didn’t have the same appreciation,” Hart said.
“As we came off we ran into Don Clarke, who was in the tunnel crying because it was something he had dreamed of.
“We introduced him to Christian Cullen, which was quite a moment really. I think that brought home to Christian just how significant that win was.“
Hart also invited the travelling New Zealand media into the dressing room to share the occasion.
“I think it was quite a special thing to do to allow the media into the room because it was an iconic moment in New Zealand rugby history,” Hart said.
“The team were absolutely shattered, but it didn’t take too long before everyone realised what they had achieved.”
From left: Walter Little, Glen Osborne and Frank Bunce celebrate after the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Pretoria. Photo / Photosport
The foundations of history
While Pretoria was the crowning moment, the foundations for the All Blacks’ historic series victory had been laid months before a ball was kicked.
After losing the World Cup final the previous year, Fitzpatrick had contemplated retirement, but was convinced to stay on.
“We knew ’95 was a missed opportunity, and I was thinking of retiring,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Kevin Roberts, who was on the board, said, ‘You have to come back here next year and be involved in the first All Blacks team to win a series in South Africa’, so that was the motivating factor.
“John Hart and I caught up in January and he took me through what his plans were, asked me if I was fit and available and, if I was playing well enough, whether I’d be interested in captaining the team.
“That was just a dream come true really in terms of having the opportunity to go to South Africa on a tour, have the opportunity to be the first team to win a series.”
When Hart was appointed coach, he was told winning in South Africa was non-negotiable. Nothing was left to chance.
Hart and former All Blacks manager Michael Banks travelled to South Africa four months before the tour to inspect training venues and logistics. While such planning is commonplace today, in the first year of the professional era it was anything but.
Hart also fought hard to take a 36-man squad, outlining a plan to operate with two teams – one for the tests and another for the midweek tour matches.
The All Blacks during a training session in Cape Town. Photo / Photosport
Bunce believes that decision proved pivotal.
“I take my hat off to John Hart because had he not fought to be able to take an extended squad … the New Zealand Rugby Union didn’t really want us to, but he fought for it. Had he not done that, we wouldn’t have won.
“There’s no way you can go there with basically one team and get through, because the provincial games were tough as anything, the travel, everything about it.”
After the inaugural Super 12 season, the All Blacks opened their international campaign with victories over Western Samoa and Scotland before the inaugural Tri Nations.
The first meeting with South Africa at Lancaster Park was a tight affair, with Andrew Mehrtens kicking five penalties in a 15-11 victory.
Back-to-back wins over Australia secured the Tri Nations title before the All Blacks headed to South Africa.
Although not officially part of the series, many within the squad viewed the final Tri Nations test in Cape Town as the beginning of the tour, particularly after a midweek fixture against Boland Invitational XV.
The All Blacks claimed a 29-18 victory at Newlands, a result Fitzpatrick believes gave the side enormous belief.
By this point, Lomu, who had been a star at the World Cup the previous year, had found himself out of the test team with lingering injuries, alongside the early warning signs of a severe kidney disorder, which was not known at the time.
Jonah Lomu in action against Western Transvaal. Photo / Photosport
“We were playing against the best team in the world and in their backyard so that was the challenge,” Fitzpatrick said.
“We played in Cape Town for that last Tri Nations game. We knew we wanted to really win that and stamp our authority and make a real statement.”
Hart agrees the significance of that victory is often overlooked.
“I think we knew we had to win in South Africa and so to win the series we really had to win the first two games,” Hart said.
“They were all crucial. The Tri Nations one was crucial, that was a really important game. I think winning that game in Cape Town set us up because we knew then that we had the capacity and capability to go with them physically and take them on.
“Cape Town was more important than people realise.”
The road to Pretoria really began a week later in Durban. The opening test at Kings Park was viewed by many within the squad as the make-or-break match of the series.
Victory would take the pressure off heading to Loftus Versfeld, while defeat would likely leave them needing to win at Ellis Park – South African rugby’s spiritual home.
Frank Bunce and Jon Preston. Photo / Photosport
“The biggest thing really was not wanting to go one-all to Ellis Park to try and win the decider,” Bunce said.
“So a big thing was we take out the first one and we finish it. We win the test series in Pretoria because we don’t want to end up at Ellis Park, which is like a temple, a shrine for South African rugby.
“That was the big motivator, I think.”
The All Blacks did exactly that, grinding out a 23-19 victory, highlighted by Brooke’s memorable try that began with a Walter Little clearance kick.
“We just knew going to altitude – and altitude in those days was still quite a new thing for us – it was just a must-win test and that’s when we knew we’d have to win at Loftus also, because going to Ellis Park one-all was going to be a mountain to climb,” Fitzpatrick said.
Durban had opened the door. Pretoria ensured the All Blacks walked through it and made history.
Exhausted after sealing the series, the All Blacks barely trained before drawing 18-18 with Griqualand West in their midweek match and falling 32-22 to the Springboks at Ellis Park.
Hart opted to reward the players who had carried the side throughout the season with the opportunity to complete a clean sweep, although he admits, in hindsight, it may not have been the right decision.
The only change he made to the starting side was bringing back Mehrtens, who had missed the previous two tests through injury.
“I looked at it and said, ‘Well I’ve got to give this team the chance to go right through and go unbeaten for the year’,” Hart said.
“In hindsight that was a mistake because there were three, four, five players who were absolutely shattered and, while they all wanted to play, I think it might have been better to have brought some fresh legs in for Johannesburg.
“And also you can’t help but understand that there was, for some, one foot on the plane. We’d won the series, that was the whole focus of what we’d come to do and psychologically I think that made the last game difficult as well.”
Bunce has no regrets.
“You’re between a rock and a hard place there as a coach,” he said.
“Do I stay loyal? Do I try and make changes? We’ve won the series, what are we trying to do, a clean sweep?
“I think everything was done right and I’ve got no regrets. Yeah, we lost, but it didn’t matter in the great scheme of things.”
The All Blacks celebrate after beating the Springboks in Pretoria. Photo / Photosport
Where does 1996 rank in All Blacks history?
Perhaps the greatest measure of the 1996 series is how those who lived it still rank the achievement three decades later.
Fitzpatrick set the tone at the outset, declaring the triumph in South Africa sat alongside – if not above – winning the inaugural Rugby World Cup on home soil, alongside Jones.
While every member of the squad took a different path to South Africa in 1996, the common thread remains the same – creating history remains one of the defining moments of their rugby lives.
For Hart, the 1996 series victory remains the pinnacle of his coaching career, although one other achievement comes close.
“There’s two moments in my career that I will always cherish and that would be the best, it has to be because it’s the pinnacle of the game,” Hart said.
“But also, Auckland winning the Ranfurly Shield in ’85 in that ‘Game of the Century’ was a pretty pivotal moment in my career as well.”
That 28-23 victory over Canterbury launched Auckland’s record 61-match Ranfurly Shield defence.
Sean Fitzpatrick celebrates the All Blacks win over the Springboks in Pretoria. Photo / Photosport
Preston’s role in the series was limited until his heroics in Pretoria, but the tour still ranks among the finest achievements of his career.
He places it alongside the All Blacks 1993 series victory over the British & Irish Lions.
“At the World Cup [in 1991], we got beaten in the semis, so that was the disappointment, but for me personally, because I wasn’t a No 1 starter in a World Cup and we didn’t win it, the South African tour victory would rank ahead of that for me personally,” Preston said.
“Probably beating the Lions, because I played against the Lions in ’93 in New Zealand and that series win there as well.
“Those two rank ahead for me because it’s when you’re on the field and playing more of a part and you end up the victors, that’s probably a bit more memorable.
“I’d love to have gone to the World Cup in ’95 but I missed out on that one. But then had the pleasure and the privilege of being involved in that ’96 tour and victory over there.”
Bunce believes the significance of the achievement has grown with time.
“It’s definitely up there,” Bunce said.
“Touring for any length of time, especially in South Africa, is a real challenge.
“We’d just come off quite a heavy load domestically and then had to go over there and do that.
“But also to be the first team, which is something that you kind of forget, we were the first team that ever won a test series over there as well.
“So there were all manner of things going on, but definitely a huge achievement and something I look back on with a lot of pride and fondness.”
Left to right: Gordon Hunter, John Hart and Ross Cooper. Photo / Photosport
Can the 2026 All Blacks win in SA?
Dave Rennie’s All Blacks squad will have the opportunity to write its own chapter in one of rugby’s greatest rivalries when its six-week tour begins on Saturday.
New Zealand will play three tests against the Springboks in South Africa before meeting them again in Baltimore.
The All Blacks will also face each of the four United Rugby Championship franchises, starting with the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
Before departing, members of the 1996 side met with the current squad to share their memories of the tour that changed All Blacks history.
Among the messages was a reminder that tours of South Africa are unlike any other challenge in rugby.
Winning a single test is difficult. Winning a series demands not only talent, but planning, resilience and a squad willing to sacrifice for one another.
Many of Rennie’s players were not born when Fitzpatrick led the All Blacks to glory, but the significance of that achievement remains as powerful today as it was three decades ago.
As the stories flowed, one match repeatedly took centre stage – the decisive second test in Pretoria, where the All Blacks finally conquered South Africa on its own soil.
Since rugby entered the professional era, traditional tours have largely disappeared, although the British & Irish Lions still tour every four years and are due back in New Zealand in 2029.
With the Springboks set to tour New Zealand in 2030, there is hope that extended tours between rugby’s greatest rivals will again become a regular part of the international calendar.
Hart recently caught up with Rennie before the squad departed and said the two discussed the similarities between the 1996 tour and the challenge awaiting the current All Blacks.
“He was keen to learn about our experience, even though it was 30 years ago, because there are so many similarities between this tour and our own,” Hart said.
“We talked about how we prepared, particularly with effectively having two teams – a test team and a midweek team.
“Ours was slightly different because we had eight games in four weeks, with a midweek game before every test, but the key messages were all about planning and preparation.
“We did things back then that probably hadn’t been done before. We took 36 players because we knew if we were going to win a series we couldn’t have the test players backing up in the midweek games.
“I said to Dave that our planning and preparation before we even arrived in South Africa was probably the key to our success, but the other key factor was that, while you effectively had two teams, you were always one team.
“The test side helped prepare the midweek side, and the midweek side helped prepare the test team. That unity was one of the biggest reasons we were able to succeed.”
Hart believes tours are something the game has been missing.
“The New Zealand-South Africa rivalry is probably the most special rivalry to us,” Hart said.
“People talk about the Bledisloe Cup but, in reality, I think from the players’ perspective, playing against South Africa is the ultimate.
“This tour coming up, you’re playing against the world champions, you’re playing against a side that’s got incredible depth and we’ve got a new team going over with new management, new philosophies.
“I’m excited to see the tour and I’m excited to see the potential that the squad brings and particularly under the direction of Dave Rennie, who I think has already changed things dramatically within the All Blacks camp.”
All Blacks captain Ardie Savea with Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi. Photo / Photosport
Preston is equally excited.
“I can’t wait personally and I know so many people have been hanging out for this,” Preston said.
“There’s nothing like a tour, I don’t believe. The World Cup has been as close as we get, but that’s a different ball game because you’re not playing the same team over a few weeks.
“I’m looking forward to it so much, particularly because it’s a South African team that is so strong at the moment and how difficult it has been historically to beat them over there.
“Being able to get into a tour and watch the All Blacks progress through it, with the midweek games and then knowing you’re going to face South Africa week after week, just brings a different level of interest and excitement for me personally.”
Bunce believes the current All Blacks have every chance of creating history of their own.
“They’re all looking forward to it and they’ve got a really good vibe,” Bunce said.
“They’re working hard and got some good people in there and I think it’s going to be an awesome tour.”
Fitzpatrick will be heading to South Africa for the three tests, although he is unsure whether he will travel to Baltimore.
“I’ll be quite happy sitting in the stands knowing what it takes to get a win down there,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Just to win down there, I know how difficult it is. I can’t wait. I think it’s a great idea.
“These guys, they’ve got an opportunity.”
If the All Blacks reign supreme, Fitzpatrick may have his own Don Clarke moment – embracing a new generation aiming to write their own piece of history.
All Blacks fixtures for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour 2026
Saturday, August 8: v Stormers, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (5am).
Wednesday, August 12: v Sharks, Kings Park, Durban (5am).
Sunday, August 16: v Bulls, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (5am).
Sunday, August 23: v South Africa, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (3am).
Wednesday, August 26: v Lions, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (5am).
Sunday, August 30: v South Africa, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (3am).
Sunday, September 6: v South Africa, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (3am).
Sunday, September 13: v South Africa. M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (9am).
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
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