South Africa and New Zealand meet at Ellis Park on Saturday in the first of a four-Test series, with kickoff at 19:10. The two sides have met 110 times, with New Zealand holding a 63-43 advantage and four draws. At Ellis Park, South Africa have the upper hand with 10 wins from 16 Tests against the All Blacks. The series ledger is perfectly balanced at 5-5 across 12 previous meetings, with two drawn.
Springboks host All Blacks in Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park
South Africa host New Zealand at Ellis Park in the opening Test of a four-match Rugby Championship series, with the all-time head-to-head at 63-43 in favour of the All Blacks but the Boks holding a 10-6 advantage at the Johannesburg venue.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.
Keo & Zels: Stubborn All Blacks policy make Boks smile
The boys love that New Zealand keep picking their second-best, long may it continue.
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.