The New Zealand All Blacks are continuing to make their presence felt in South Africa, having swept aside the country’s leading provincial sides before taking a commanding advantage over the Springboks in the opening Test of the historic Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
The All Blacks arrived in South Africa for an eight-match tour consisting of four provincial matches and four Tests against the Springboks. It is New Zealand’s first major tour of South Africa in 30 years.
So far, the visitors have been unbeaten, defeating the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls, Springboks and Lions.
All Blacks’ victories in South Africa
The tour started on 7 August at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, where the All Blacks defeated the Stormers 38-21. The South African franchise stayed in the contest for long periods, but New Zealand pulled away in the closing stages.
Four days later, the All Blacks produced an even more emphatic performance against the Sharks, winning 54-0 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban. It was one of the most dominant performances of the tour.
Their winning run continued on 15 August, when they defeated the Bulls 50-19 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The biggest statement, however, came against the Springboks.
On 22 August, the All Blacks stunned the home crowd at 10bet Ellis Park in Johannesburg, defeating the world champions 33-16 in the first Test of the four-match series.
New Zealand scored five tries to South Africa’s one and took a 1-0 lead in the series.
The All Blacks then completed their provincial programme on 25 August, when they came from 18 points behind to beat the Lions 41-35 at Ellis Park.
Despite trailing 35-17 shortly after half-time, New Zealand produced a remarkable comeback, scoring seven tries to eventually win the match.
That means the All Blacks have now won all five matches they have played in South Africa, scoring 216 points and conceding 131 across those games.
Remaining All Blacks fixtures in South Africa
The tour is far from over, with three more matches involving the All Blacks still to come in August and September.
Saturday, 29 August
Springboks vs All Blacks
DHL Stadium, Cape Town
17:10 South African time
The second Test is arguably the most important match of the series for the Springboks. New Zealand lead 1-0, and another victory would put them in a commanding position.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has been cleared to return after recovering from a hamstring injury and has been named in the starting XV for the Cape Town Test.
Saturday, 5 September
Springboks vs All Blacks
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
5pm.
The third Test will return to Johannesburg, where the series opened at Ellis Park.
Saturday, 12 September
Springboks vs All Blacks
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, United States
11pm (South African time)
The fourth and final Test will be played outside South Africa, in Baltimore, bringing the historic eight-match tour to an end.
Springboks facing a huge challenge
For Rassie Erasmus and his Springboks, the immediate priority is to stop the All Blacks’ momentum in Cape Town.
New Zealand’s victory at Ellis Park exposed several problems for the world champions, particularly their inability to turn sustained pressure into points. The All Blacks, meanwhile, showed remarkable efficiency when opportunities presented themselves.
The return of Kolisi provides South Africa with a major boost, but the Springboks will have to produce a significantly improved performance if they are to level the series.
The All Blacks, under new head coach Dave Rennie, have so far shown that they are capable of adapting to South African conditions and dealing with the physical challenge posed by the country’s teams.
With the All Blacks unbeaten and the Springboks already trailing 1-0, the second Test at DHL Stadium promises to be another major chapter in one of rugby’s greatest rivalries.