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Rugby’s greatest rivalry deserves British & Lions tour treatment

Rugby’s greatest rivalry deserves British & Lions tour treatment
Jon Cardinelli
By Jon Cardinelli
5 Sep 2024
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While the British & Irish Lions have continued to captivate with their lengthy quests to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the narrative around the All Blacks-Springboks rivalry has been diluted for much of the professional era.

The hype around the All Blacks’ current two-Test tour of South Africa has been fantastic. While the double-header is part of a wider tournament, this Freedom Cup series has felt more significant – at least from a South African and Kiwi perspective – than the Rugby Championship. 

The first Test at Ellis Park was nothing short of epic, with the All Blacks controlling the match for 60 minutes, before the Bomb Squad powered the Boks to a dramatic comeback victory.

The series will come to an explosive conclusion in Cape Town on Saturday, 7 September 2024. As was certainly the case in the recent two-Test rubber against Ireland, many may be left wondering if the series has ended a game too soon.

Indeed, this question has been asked since 1996 – the last time either of these juggernauts completed a traditional three-Test tour in arch-rival territory.

While the British & Irish Lions have continued to captivate with their lengthy quests to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the narrative around the All Blacks-Springboks rivalry has been diluted for much of the professional era.

As reported in Daily Maverick this past week, that is all about to change.

From 2026 onwards, this rivalry will get the full “Lions treatment”, with touring parties playing as many as nine games – and, perhaps most significantly, three to four Tests.

As is the case with the Lions, these tours will be staged every four years.

While the schedule has yet to be confirmed, the All Blacks will tour South Africa in 2026, and will play the four top franchises as well as the SA “A” side. Three Tests will be staged in the Republic, while a fourth could be played at an overseas venue.

In 2030, the Boks will travel to New Zealand to battle the local Kiwi franchises as well as the All Blacks. It’s the type of news that transcends the result of the current two-match series between Rassie Erasmus’ Boks and Scott Robertson’s All Blacks.

In the coming years, the narrative around these two great teams will be allowed to develop over the course of four to five weeks, and the rivalry may be restored to its former glory.

Back to the future


The Boks haven’t won a big series in New Zealand since 1937. Sean Fitzpatrick’s side made history when they became the first All Blacks team to win a three-match rubber on South African soil in 1996.

The advent of the Tri-Nations in 1996, and subsequently the expanded Rugby Championship, provided the teams with the opportunity to meet home and away on an annual basis.

Over the past three decades, however, the format of the tournament – as well as the travel demands of competing across three continents – has had a negative impact on at least one of the teams.

Between 2012 and 2018, the Boks were forced to play all three of their overseas fixtures in the space of four weeks, and were asked to play the All Blacks in New Zealand at the back end of that gruelling schedule.

In the final two rounds of the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks flew from New Zealand to Argentina and finally on to South Africa. Neither group was happy with the arrangement.

A move towards more “traditional” tours – within the Rugby Championship framework – was welcomed in 2022.

These matches are now played back to back, and both teams have an extra week to travel and prepare.

And yet, when the 2022 Freedom Cup series ended 1-1 – thanks to a remarkable comeback victory by the All Blacks at Ellis Park – many were left wanting more.

Bucket list fixtures


Bok players past and present often speak about a match against the All Blacks as the ultimate challenge, given the history between the two proud rugby nations. Now that the quadrennial tour concept has been approved, players on both sides will have reason to adjust their goals.

Teams often talk about building towards a World Cup or Lions series. With a view to 2026, 2030, and every series thereafter, South Africa and New Zealand will speak about these tours in the same breath.

Erasmus has already said that he is building a squad to peak at the 2027 World Cup. No doubt he will want some answers before the Boks host the All Blacks in 2026, in a series that will be as big as a Lions tour.

Will the New Zealand tour in 2030 entice some of the coaches and players to push on?

It’s an interesting question for a group that has already won two World Cups and a Lions series.

By then, it will have been nearly 100 years since the Boks last won a series on New Zealand soil, and the team may be in a position to make further history.

Player welfare remains a concern


So much has changed over the past five years, with the South African teams leaving Super Rugby to compete in the European tournaments.

While the move has bolstered South African rugby on several fronts, it has led to a situation where the top players compete year round. The European season stretches from September to June, while the Test schedule starts in July and ends in November.

There’s been talk of moving the Rugby Championship into the Six Nations window – which spans the months of February and March.

This would lead to greater alignment between the northern and southern hemispheres – and from a South African point of view, would ensure that the players have an official rest period in August and September.

It remains to be seen if those changes will be made in the next few years. As things stand, the proposed tours of South Africa and New Zealand will be staged in the present Rugby Championship window, and this could have consequences for player welfare as well as the Sanzaar showpiece. DM

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