Fitzpatrick lauds decision to renew Boks and All Blacks rivalry

In a huge boost for a struggling game, the Boks and the All Blacks will resume full tours in 2026. By Craig Ray

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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, No 1 at the moment, are a distant second at 266 weeks spent at the top. Ireland have a total of 74 weeks at the summit and England enjoyed 40 weeks there.

In terms of 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 two teams are the most dominant in the sport.

Yet, despite their rugby credentials, when it comes to the boardroom and 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 in terms of money and the business of the sport, rugby is struggling. Which is one reason former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick is happy that 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 South Africa “A” will mark the All Blacks' first full tour of the country in 30 years when they arrive in 2026.