All Blacks, Springboks to wrap up ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour with Baltimore money-spinner

Friday, 23 January 2026

Wallace Sititi and the All Blacks will resume their rivalry with South Africa in a four-test tour later this year.

The home of The Wire TV series, and the Ravens NFL team, will in September host the final instalment of the historic test series between the All Blacks and Springboks.

New Zealand Rugby on Friday announced that the fourth test of the All Blacks’ inaugural ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ tour to South Africa would be held in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday, September 13 (NZ time), following earlier internationals in Johannesburg (August 23), Cape Town (August 30) and back in Jo’burg again on September 6 (NZT).

Last year the respective Rugby Championship superpowers announced the resumption of full tours between the two countries, starting in 2026 in South Africa, and continuing with a reciprocal visit by the Boks to New Zealand in 2030.

This year’s eight-match tour of the republic sees the All Blacks, under their new head coach, kick off with a clash against the Stormers in Cape Town on August 7, and also takes in games against the Sharks, Bulls and Lions, on top of the four tests.

The two countries have agreed a money-spinning deal that sees the fourth and final test of what is anticipated to be a captivating series – their first full tour since the All Blacks’ historic series victory in the republic in 1996 – staged at the 71,000-capacity M&T Bank Stadium.

It will be the first time the two great rugby nations, and rivals, will have played each other in the US, and will be staged at one of that country’s standout stadium venues.

Friends and rivals Ardie Savea and Siya Kolisi can expect to see a lot of each other this year as old-fashioned tours return.

The two, though, are no stranger to playing rugby in the country that will host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.

The New Zealanders have played three times in Chicago in recent years (twice against Ireland and once the US), as well as in San Diego (v Fiji) and Washington DC (v USA). South Africa also faced the USA in Houston in 2001 and visited Washington DC in 2018 to face Wales.

The fixture was announced as a three-way collaboration between New Zealand, South Africa and World Rugby, and is sure to include heavy cash incentives from both Baltimore, US Rugby and the international body to bring the game stateside.

The Springboks celebrated their record 43-10 victory over the All Blacks in Wellington last year.

It is likely to draw a sellout crowd of expats and US rugby enthusiasts, topped up by general American sporting fans who will be intrigued to the see the two best rugby teams on the planet go at it one final time in 2026.

“Having the opportunity to once again play in the US, less than a year after our last game, is exciting for the All Blacks and for New Zealand Rugby,” said interim NZ Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster. “The US is an important market for us and for rugby more broadly, as we look ahead to Rugby World Cup 2031. This will mark the fourth time the team has played in the US in five years, so it’s great to be in another new city to show sports fans the spectacle and excitement of rugby.”

Added SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer: 'Taking the Springboks to new audiences and territories is a key objective for South African rugby and the opportunity to do so in a ground-breaking match against our fiercest rivals was a major determinant in where the fourth test would be played.'

The All Blacks and Springboks rivalry is considered the greatest in international rugby. The two nations have won seven of the 10 World Cups between them and have shared a long-standing, and at times heated, history of clashes, dating back to 1921.

Under Rassie Erasmus the world champion Boks have won five of their last six matchups against the New Zealanders, including the memorable 12-11 World Cup final victory in Paris in 2023 and a record-breaking 43-10 demolition job in Wellington last year.