The All Blacks are embarking on their first full-scale tour of South Africa since 1996, kicking off on Friday against the Stormers in Cape Town in what is being marketed as 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' — a structured, recurring property the two unions hope will generate Lions-tour levels of revenue.
The venture is a 50-50 partnership between SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby, with earnings pooled across sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandise and international broadcast rights. The tour runs to eight matches — four against provincial franchises and four Tests — with the series concluding in Baltimore, Maryland on September 12. That single fixture in the North American market is projected to generate between R65m and R98m more than an equivalent home Test in South Africa.
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer has been explicit about the commercial logic. 'America is a very important market for us in the run-up to the 2031 World Cup,' he said earlier this year. 'We want to establish ourselves there as a team that is known to the majority of Americans who will support the game.'
The format is intended to alternate host nations every four years, positioning the series as a commercial rival to the Lions tour, which visits each country only once every 12 years.
The provincial legs carry an unusual wrinkle this time: franchise sides will not have access to their Springbok players, who are already in national camp. The Boks open their own programme with a warm-up against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday before the first Test against New Zealand in Johannesburg on August 22. That leaves the All Blacks facing weakened opposition in the build-up matches — a preparation concern for a touring side that needs competitive game time before the Test series begins.
New Zealand's 1996 tour, the last of this scale, ended in a series win for the All Blacks — the first they had achieved on South African soil — earning that squad the enduring nickname 'the Incomparables'.