The Rugby Championship: Rivalries, records and showdowns that define the competition

The Citizen

4 days ago

Some of the world's greatest test-level rugby rivalries play out each year in The Rugby Championship, a tournament that continues to showcase southern hemisphere passion and power. Formerly known as the Tri-Nations, the competition took on a new dimension when Argentina joined in 2012, adding a fresh layer of unpredictability to already fierce matchups.
Since the announcement of the fixtures for the 2025 Rugby Championship, the first meeting of this year's tournament between the Springboks and the All Blacks is a hot topic. The much-anticipated game will be played on September 6 at Eden Park in Auckland.
This presents a mental hurdle for the Boks because they last won a test match at Eden Park 88 years ago. Their best performance since then was when Francois Pienaar's Boks drew 18-all on August 6, 1994, in the third test of the last traditional Springbok tour of New Zealand.
However, Rassie Erasmus' team has begun to break the pattern of the All Blacks' dominance over the past few seasons. The Boks' big 35–7 victory at Twickenham in London on August 25, 2023, ushered in a run of four consecutive victories for Erasmus' team.
Whatever the reason for the All Blacks' less-than-impressive performances in recent seasons, it has certainly raised hopes that the Springboks can break the Eden Park drought this year.
The saying that test rugby is war on the sports field is well known. It is certainly arguable, but a test match between South Africa's Springboks and New Zealand's All Blacks is, in terms of this saying, probably the biggest war that could take place on a sports field.
Two of the most epic world cup finals ever were played between these countries. The first was the iconic final on June 24, 1995, at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, when Francois Pienaar's Boks beat the All Blacks 15–12 to give South Africa its first taste of glory in this international tournament.
Then there was the most recent triumph for the Springboks in a world cup tournament, when Siya Kolisi's team won 12–11 in Paris on October 28, 2023, to clinch South Africa's fourth title as world champions.
The first test match between South Africa and New Zealand was played on August 13, 1921, at Carisbrook in Dunedin. South Africa was represented by Boy Morkel's Springbok team, and the All Blacks won 13–5 that day.
The rivalry between these two rugby giants can largely be divided into two distinguishable eras. The Springboks dominated the pre-isolation era with 20 wins in 37 test matches to the All Blacks' 15, while two matches ended in draws. However, the All Blacks have dominated the rivalry since 1992, with 47 wins out of the 71 tests played, while the Springboks have been on the winning side 22 times, and two tests have ended in draws.
The Bledisloe Cup:
Nearly a century of clashes
The All Blacks and Wallabies' battle for the Bledisloe Cup is almost 100 years old. These two countries first competed for the trophy in 1931. Since the first Tri-Nations in 1996, the Bledisloe Cup duel has been part of this competition.
In terms of the number of tests played against each other, no rivalry in this tournament comes close to the battle between Australia and New Zealand.
First test: 1903
Tests played: 179
All Blacks wins: 126
Wallabies wins: 45
Draws: 8
Springboks vs Wallabies:
A rivalry with two eras
The beginning of the rugby rivalry between South Africa and Australia dates back to July 8, 1933, when Phil Nel's Springboks took on the Wallabies for the first time at Newlands, beating them 17–3.
Since then, the two teams have faced each other 95 times, with the Springboks winning 52 times and losing 40, while three matches ended in a draw.
South Africa dominated the pre-isolation era with 21 wins and seven losses. The Aussies were one of the first countries to boycott South African sport, and the last test in the pre-isolation era between the Springboks and the Wallabies was played in August 1971, when Hannes Marais' team beat the Aussies 18–6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Since South Africa's return in 1992, the two have played 67 times:
Springboks: 31 wins
Wallabies: 33 wins
Draws: 3
Springboks vs Argentina:
From Jaguars to tests
Before South Africa was welcomed back into international rugby, there were no official tests between the Springboks and Argentina.
From 1980 to 1984, the Boks played eight tests against representative South American teams, known as the South American Jaguars. These were composite teams made up of players from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.
South Africa officially played Argentina for the first time on November 6, 1993, when Francois Pienaar's Springboks, coached by Ian McIntosh, beat the Pumas in Buenos Aires 29–26.
Since then, the two countries have met 38 times in official tests:
Springboks: 33 wins
Argentina: 4 wins
Draws: 1
Wallabies vs Pumas:
Underdogs and upsets
In terms of test matches between the Wallabies and the Pumas, there have been 41 showdowns.
Australia: 29 wins
Argentina: 9 wins
Draws: 3
All Blacks vs Argentina:
The Pumas fight on
The All Blacks and Argentina have played each other in 39 test matches throughout history.
All Blacks: 35 wins
Argentina: 3 wins
Draws: 1