Pinnacle of rugby: Fitzpatrick lauds decision to resume Springboks and All Blacks' epic touring rivalry

Daily Maverick

22-04-2025

The Springboks and the All Blacks will resume full tours in 2026, which is a huge boost for a struggling game.
South Africans and New Zealanders have an unshakeable belief that Tests between the Springboks and All Blacks represent the pinnacle of the sport — and the evidence backs up that assertion.
Winning seven of the 10 World Cups between them is the obvious metric to measure their dominance.
The other raw statistics don't lie either.
Since world rankings began in 2003, the All Blacks have spent a total of 743 weeks as the No 1 team. The Springboks, currently No 1, are a distant second at 266 weeks spent at the top. Ireland have a total of 74 weeks at the top and England enjoyed 40 weeks at the summit.
When it comes to winning percentages in Test Rugby, the All Blacks have a 76.6% winning ratio from their 651 Tests.
The Boks are second on the all-time list with a 63.54% winning percentage from their 555 Tests. The next closest is England with a 55.71% winning ratio. Throw in four World Cups for the Boks and three for the All Blacks, and it's clear from the stats which are the two most dominant teams in the sport.
Yet, despite their rugby credentials affirming that idea, when it comes to the boardroom and in terms of steering the direction of the sport, the two countries are not at the top.
World Rugby is dominated by northern hemisphere members and of the 10 World Cups played, six have been hosted in the north.
And when it comes to money and the business of the sport, rugby is struggling. Which is one reason why former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick is happy full tours between the nations will resume next year.
Grow appeal
'It's fantastic, I don't know why it's taken so long,' Fitzpatrick told Daily Maverick at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards, which were held in Madrid on 21 April.
Eight matches — including three Tests, four contests against United Rugby Championship (URC) clubs and one match against SA 'A' will mark the All Blacks' first full tour of South Africa in 30 years when they arrive in 2026.
There will be a fourth Test, but that will be staged outside of South Africa — probably played in London, or North America — that won't form part of the official series.
These are the broad details of a deal between the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to strengthen connections between the old foes.
The first series under this new agreement will be played in South Africa in 2026, marking the 30th anniversary of the All Blacks' last tour of the Republic in 1996.
Fitzpatrick's men won that series 2-1, becoming the first All Black team to ever win a series in South Africa.
The Boks will tour New Zealand in 2030, with a similar eight-match schedule. The 1937 tourists remain the only Springbok team to win a series in New Zealand.
'We need people to engage in the sport; we need to be competitive and it needs to be good to watch, but overall, it must be a sport that the youth of today can engage with,' Fitzpatrick said at Laureus.
'So in terms of how we produce it and how we consume it, it is vital, and a Springboks versus All Blacks tour is a great story. We've got a lot to do to make it appealing. We can't just have a World Cup every four years and that's it.
'The only part of our game that really makes money is international rugby. New Zealand rugby is funded by the All Blacks. In South Africa, the Springboks are responsible for the bulk of the game's income.
'The resumption of the tours is a massive chance to grow the game's appeal.'
Hors d'oeuvres
And as a starter, the Boks will play two Tests in New Zealand this year as part of the 2025 Rugby Championship.
After four consecutive wins over the All Blacks in the past two years, including the final of RWC 2023, the challenge for the Boks will be to continue that sequence in New Zealand.
The All Blacks are also on an upward curve after some early teething problems under new coach Scott Robertson. They are nearly back to their formidable best.
When the sides collide at Eden Park on 6 September, the Boks won't only be gunning for a fifth consecutive win over the old foes. They are also aiming to become the first team to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park in 31 years.
The All Blacks have won 48 of 50 Tests and had two draws at the venue since France beat them in 1994. In fact, the All Blacks have beaten 12 different teams at their stronghold in that period. The Wallabies suffered the most with 20 losses since 1994.
The Boks have not played at Eden Park as frequently — only five times since 1994. An 18-18 draw that year was their best result. They last appeared at Eden Park in 2013.
'I think the Eden Park Test will be the biggest game of the rugby year in 2025,' Fitzpatrick said. 'And the following week they go to Wellington, which is probably the All Blacks' worst home ground. That's not good for us either.
'I spoke to Jamie Joseph (former Japan coach) a few weeks ago and he says that Tony Brown (Bok attack coach) is blown away by the talent and the depth you have in South Africa.
'I don't really know Rassie, but what I see is that he's quite happy to, like Graham Henry did with the All Blacks, bring experts on board. He's happy to say 'you're better than me at something, so I'll just be the orchestra player, the conductor, and you coach'. He's very switched on.'
Financial strain
Globally, rugby is struggling financially and largely funded by private equity money or through the passion of individual owners. Test rugby remains the pinnacle and produces the bulk of the income for most unions. The Boks are responsible for 80% of Saru's R1.5-billion annual income through broadcast and commercial rights, as well as sponsorship.
The All Blacks' percentage to NZR's coffers is even higher when you consider that they released an 8% equity stake to Silver Lake for NZ$200-million in 2022.
The tour will be an income boost.
England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) both declared massive losses for the 2023/24 financial year — £34.4-million and €18.4-million, respectively.
That was largely due to missing out on hosting three home Tests in November 2023 as it clashed with Rugby World Cup 2023. It underlines the value of Test rugby to the bottom line for all unions.
Both the RFU and IRFU are also beneficiaries of private equity funding through their dividends paid after CVC Capital bought a small stake (one-seventh) of the Six Nations for £365-million in 2021.
In short, they have access to far greater income in economies with much stronger currencies than Saru and are still struggling to balance the books.
Which is why the All Blacks tour in 2026 — which will be played under the name 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' — is so important.
The income from the sale of broadcast and commercial rights is going to be significant for both unions.
Income, in terms of commercial value and broadcasting rights for the tour, will be shared evenly although the home union will take a larger share of the ticket and match-day revenue.
Unlike in years previously when all but the 1996 tour were held in the amateur era, and even that tour was in professional rugby's infancy, there are some commercial headaches to overcome.
Both the Boks and the All Blacks, as well as Saru and NZR, have commercial and sponsorship partners that might clash, or be competitors in the same market.
So, part of the negotiations will be around what is 'sacred' and what is not. In other words, whose branding might go where. While it sounds like a small thing, millions of dollars are at play.
Despite these challenges, the resumption of these tours will be massive money-spinners for the Boks and All Blacks, underpinned a genuine rivalry between the two best sides on the planet. DM