The All Blacks were greeted by a crowd of more than 4 000 fans at an official Welcome Event in Cape Town on Tuesday as Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour of South Africa gets underway. The eight-match tour opens against the Stormers.

Head coach Dave Rennie and tour captain Codie Taylor addressed supporters at the event, with several players visibly struck by the scale of the reception. Wallace Sititi likened the atmosphere to a boxing match walkout, while Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa described the experience as "a dream" he never anticipated. For loosehead prop Anton Segner, on his first tour of South Africa with the All Blacks, the welcome carried particular resonance. "The support so far has been overwhelming, in the best way possible," he said. "To see how the people here get behind us, it almost feels like we're home."