There is no greater rivalry in rugby than the All Blacks and Springboks, and it does not get bigger than the men in black touring South Africa, writes Mark Keohane. Finally it is official. Rugby’s worst kept secret is rugby’s best news for 2026.

The All Blacks will tour South Africa in 2026, play all four Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams and three Tests against the Boks, with a fourth to be played on a neutral venues, still to be announced but most likely in London.

The All Blacks have toured South Africa just six times and their only success, in a Test series, was 30 years ago, in 1996. It was the last time they toured.

Sean Fitzpatrick’s history makers won the first two Tests in Durban and Pretoria before losing the third Test at Ellis Park.

The 33-26 win in Pretoria is iconic, for the result, the quality of the match and the pedigree of the two teams.

SA Rugby’s Communications revealed all details on Thursday, 16th October.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry announced: Springboks and All Blacks reignite traditional tours

· Quadrennial tour between Springboks and All Blacks announced

· Eight match schedule of All Blacks’ 2026 tour of South Africa confirmed

· Historic fourth Test to be played internationally

· Springboks’ first professional era tour of New Zealand to occur in 2030

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, an alternating quadrennial tour between South Africa and New Zealand, was confirmed on Thursday, marking a defining new chapter for the intense rivalry between the sport’s most successful and storied nations.

In the tour’s maiden year, South Africa will host New Zealand in August and September 2026. The All Blacks kick off the tour against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, 7 August and take on the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and Lions, to complement a four Test series against the Springboks.

Ellis Park (Johannesburg), DHL Stadium (Cape Town), and FNB Stadium (Johannesburg) are confirmed as South African Test venues, preceding a landmark fourth Test hosted at a neutral international venue. Details of the fourth Test will be confirmed in the coming months.

By reigniting rugby’s traditional roots, the tour will renew the legacy of a rivalry known for its fierce competition and societal significance across the last century.

Next year marks 30 years since New Zealand’s last major tour of South Africa, where the visitors embarked on an eight-match schedule, culminating in a historic 2-1 Test series win. In the reciprocal 2030 iteration, South Africa will conduct their first professional era tour to New Zealand.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said: “This fierce competition between two very proud nations has delivered more than a century of drama on rugby fields across the world, including two Rugby World Cup finals.

“We saw last year how much it means for Springbok supporters to welcome the All Blacks to South Africa, and we can’t wait to see them tour our country next year, as we rekindle our friendship with our greatest adversaries.

“Today’s announcement promises more drama, physicality, strategy, and unpredictability in a rivalry regarded as one of the most intense in world sport.

“This tour will also mean so much for our four franchises and their players – facing one of the best teams in the history of the game – as well as their fans, who will have the opportunity to see their team in action against international opposition for the first time since 2009. We know next year’s tour will be nothing short of epic.”

Mark Robinson, CEO of New Zealand Rugby added: “The rivalry between the All Blacks and the Springboks is fierce, but it’s also steeped in history and respect. Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry is everything that is great about traditional rugby tours whilst finding new ways to offer more for fans to see and engage with. All eight matches during this tour will be a showcase of our sport for fans, whether they are in New Zealand, on the ground in South Africa, or across the globe.”

RASSIE RAVES ABOUT RIVALRY TOUR

Back-to-back Rugby World Cup winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said: “This is going to be something huge and something this generation will never forget. These are the tours we’ve only heard of. To experience this for the first time, where it’s like a Lions tour, is unbelievable for us as a group.

“I have no doubt the Springbok fans will be there waiting to welcome the All Blacks fans to South Africa. Let’s get excited; let’s get behind it and, people of South Africa, it’s an opportunity for us to show the world once again who we are and what we are about – we certainly can’t wait for it.”

All Blacks captain Scott Barrett said: “This is a huge rivalry, and one that is founded off mutual respect, but for 80 minutes these are two teams that every time they play there’s everything on the line. The intensity is right up there, and it is shaping up to be a heck of a tour. The format will be great, and there will be a whole lot of excited fans watching from home, and travelling with us as well. We are looking forward to it.”

Tickets for the tour, including match bundles, will go on general sale early next year. Fans can sign up to be the first to hear and gain priority access to pre-sales by visiting greatest-rivalry.com

The launch of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry sees the creation of a new and bold visual identity for the tour. Its logo brings together the iconic Springbok and All Black marks inside a ‘V’ shape, putting them at the heart of the ‘versus’ terminology used when debating heavyweight international clashes. Its earthy colour palette takes inspiration from the tones from each nation’s landscapes.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour fixtures 2026

Friday 7 August: DHL Stormers v All Blacks at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Tuesday 11 August: Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Saturday 15 August: Vodacom Bulls v All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Saturday 22 August: First Test – Springboks v All Blacks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Tuesday 25 August: Lions v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Saturday 29 August: Second Test – Springboks v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Saturday 5 September: Third Test – Springboks v New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Saturday 12 September:

Fourth Test – South Africa v New Zealand (International venue to be announced)

*The tour replaces the 2026 Castle Rugby Championship, as does the 2030 Springboks tour to New Zealand, where the Boks will play three Tests and five matches against the Super Rugby franchises.

BOK BEFOK: Springboks 43 All Blacks 10 

Some stories deserve to be told in sepia, not pixels.

In a world addicted to filters and fleeting feeds, Castle Lager’s new “Heritage of Craft” campaign pauses time. It rewinds the clock to 1895 — the year South Africa’s oldest beer was first brewed — and finds a way to link that legacy to our modern sporting heartbeat, writes Mark Keohane. 

At the centre of this visual time-machine stands Mike Sharman, founder of Retroviral Agency, and one of Africa’s most gifted creative disruptors. Together with Castle Lager’s team, Sharman took a brand known for unity and tradition and reframed it through a literal lens of history — an original 1895 camera, found in a tiny Paris antique shop.

“About a year and a half ago, we were looking at a brief surrounding Castle’s new packaging,” Sharman recalls. “And we went down quite a rabbit hole. Castle was founded in 1895, and it’s been part of the South African psyche for 130 years. It’s been the one consistent sponsor, through thick and thin — Springboks, Bafana Bafana, Proteas — always there, always dependable, like the taste itself.”

That word — consistency — became the heartbeat of the concept. In sport, consistency wins titles. In beer, it defines trust. And in storytelling, it forges emotion.

In Paris for another project, Sharman stumbled into an old camera store. The kind that smells of dust, oil, and ghosts of artistry. Hanging behind glass was a wood-and-brass camera dated 1895 — the same year Charles Glass brewed his first batch of Castle.

He bought it. And with it, he bought the soul of this campaign.

What began as a packaging brief transformed into a cinematic pilgrimage: capturing South Africa’s modern sporting heroes — the Springboks, Proteas, and Bafana Bafana — through the same kind of camera that existed when Castle was born. The result? A mini-documentary that blurs eras and celebrates one thing that hasn’t changed: the craft of creation.

Sharman’s narrative drew on three remarkable South Africans:

Kyle Moskovitz, plant head at Newlands Brewery, guardian of the same walls that have brewed Castle for generations.

Dennis da Silva, South Africa’s master hand-printer, who still develops photographs by hand in black and white, his fingers stained by history.

Vino Snap, once a township footballer, now one of Mzansi’s most viral photographers — self-taught, self-made, and a modern mirror of hustle and heart.

Sanzaar makes call on Rugby Championship

“We live in a world dominated by AI,” Sharman says. “Everyone wants instant gratification. But mastery takes time — ten thousand hours, maybe more. That’s what Dennis represents. That’s what Kyle lives every day in that brewery. And that’s what Vino embodies — modern craft built on timeless principles.”

For 130 years, Castle Lager has been a thread through our nation’s fabric — the familiar gold label in moments of celebration and heartbreak alike. From Joel Stransky’s drop goal in 1995, to Makazole Mapimpi’s try in 2019, the charge down of Cheslin Kolbe against France in the quarter-finals, the goalkicking of Handre Pollard in the quarterfinals, the semi-finals and final, Pieter-Steph du Toit’s 28 tackles in the final and the glorious moment of captain Siya Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2023, there has always been a Castle in the background — in fridges, on tables, in the hands of fans from Khayelitsha to Krugersdorp.

Think Bafana Bafana, winners of Africa’s biggest title in 1996, hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup and in 2025 qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

From the field to the dressing room — pure joy, pride and unity! 🇿🇦

Bafana Bafana celebrate in style after sealing our ticket to the FIFA World Cup! 🎉

A moment for the history books. 💚💛

⚽ #BafanaPride #FIFAWorldCup #SABCSport pic.twitter.com/4guPwjAkFi

— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) October 15, 2025

Think the Proteas cricketers, the legends, the greats and in 2025 the winners of the World Test Championship when Temba Bavuma did like Graeme Smith and hoisted the Mace for South Africa being Test cricket’s best.

Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

The “Heritage of Craft” campaign recognises that relationship. It’s not nostalgia; it’s an acknowledgement of shared identity.
Thomas Lawrence, Castle Lager’s brand director, calls it “a metaphor for our investment in culture — through the lens of South African fandom and our heroes who don our national colours on the global stage.”

Over the years, Castle’s partnerships have defined our sporting nationhood. The Springboks have become the world’s gold standard in resilience. The Proteas personify grit, patience, and perfectionism — much like brewing itself. Bafana Bafana, the eternal heartbeat of our townships, remind us of rhythm, spirit, and hope.

Castle hasn’t just sponsored sport; it has sponsored belief.

From Paris to Polokwane is a full-circle moment when one considers that Vino Snap, who’d never shot on film, was handed that 1895 camera and sent to Polokwane, where he captured Bafana Bafana during a World Cup qualifier.

The photos are grainy, imperfect, and utterly magnificent. They look like history — because they are.

For Sharman, that was the full circle: “The process may change, the tools may change, but taste is timeless.”

Crafting heritage on a century-old camera

In an era of AI-generated everything, this campaign insists that some things can’t be automated: heritage, craftsmanship, emotion.

It’s also a love letter to Paris — the city where Castle’s old camera was found, and the city that has gifted South African sport so many memories. Paris 2007, when John Smit lifted the Webb Ellis Cup. Paris 2023, when Siya Kolisi did it again. Paris 1998, when Bafana Bafana took their first steps on football’s greatest stage.

From Paris with Love, indeed.

The campaign’s symbolism is as rich as its taste: South Africa’s most iconic beer, brewed in the Cape, born in 1895, still toasting victories 130 years later — captured through a lens from the same year, by a new generation of creators.

Sharman’s “Heritage of Craft” isn’t an ad — it’s a reminder that fire, friends and sport will always unite us and that craftsmanship isn’t dead.

It is a reminder that what we celebrate in South African sport today is what was carefully made yesterday.

So, here’s to the camera bought in Paris.

Here’s to 130 years of Castle Lager.

Here’s to a taste — and a spirit — that has stood the test of time.

• Shaun James filmed the documentary.

The Bulls will get better on tour and the Stormers have the best chance in five seasons to go five from five in the opening month of the URC.

The Stormers are one of just two teams undefeated after three rounds of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and they will spend the next fortnight in Italy for league matches against Zebre and Benetton.

The Stormers lead the league on points difference from unbeaten Irish province Munster. The latter edged Edinburgh 20-19 in Cork over the weekend.

The Stormers, courtesy of scoring 95 points in three matches and conceding just 10, have enjoyed their best start in the league’s five season history.

They are locked on 14 points apiece, having both won three out of three amid a flying start to the campaign.

The DHL Stormers claimed an emphatic 34-0 victory away to the Scarlets on Friday night, helping them lead the way on points difference.

Weekend Summery and all the match highlights, courtesy of the URC

There was a try, two conversions, a penalty, and a yellow card for Springboks star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu on an eventful return to league duty after his exploits in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

Munster faced a much tighter contest in Cork, where they had to come from behind to secure a 20-19 bonus point win against Edinburgh Rugby, who had no fewer than four players sin-binned.

Second row Fineen Wycherley was the man to deliver the match-winning try eight minutes from time as the hosts completed their comeback after trailing 19-10 at one stage.

Head coach Clayton McMillan said:

“It’s an 80-minute game, so I never think the game is over at half-time.

“We sort of just hung in there, got enough opportunities in the second half, cashed in, and got the job done.

“Sometimes we are not going to be at our best, but we can fight for everything to the bitter end, and I thought we did that well.

“It’s no small achievement to get off and win three games, and we are happy we have been able to do that.”

The other undefeated team are Ulster Rugby, who recorded an eye-catching 28-7 bonus point victory over the Vodacom Bulls, who had been top of the table after Round 2.

Playing in front of a passionate Belfast crowd, they scored four tries, with Player of the Match Nathan Doak converting all four from scrum-half.

Coach Richie Murphy, who described his pack’s performance as “incredible”, was understandably delighted with the result.

“The Bulls threw everything at us, but the fight we showed, how hard we worked for each other, was really satisfying,” he said.

“In my time here, this is probably my biggest win in relation to what we are trying to do as a team.

“It’s really positive, two wins from two. It’s really important now that we keep going forward.”

Despite having picked up maximum points, Ulster lie fifth in the table, having only played two games due to the weather-related postponement of last weekend’s trip to Edinburgh.

Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Rugby sit just above them, having both racked up 11 points from their three matches.

Glasgow ran in seven tries, including two from prolific scrum-half George Horne, as they overwhelmed Dragons RFC 49-0 at Scotstoun.

It was a very different kind of contest at the Arms Park, where it was nip and tuck all the way until Cardiff clinched a 14-8 victory over Connacht Rugby thanks to a late interception from teenage winger Tom Bowen, who crossed twice to add to his hat-trick against Munster the week before.

Like the Vodacom Bulls, Zebre Parma also went down to their first defeat of the season as they were beaten 24-0 by the Ospreys in Bridgend.

Fellow Italians Benetton Rugby had a much happier weekend as they defeated the winless Lions 41-15, with winger Louis Lynagh running in no fewer than four tries.

SAFFAS IN TOP FORM IN THE URC

Finally, champions Leinster Rugby are back in business.

After losing their opening two games out in South Africa, they reinforced their line-up with the return of five British & Irish Lions and two of them – Josh van der Flier and Jamie Osborne – touched down in a 31-5 bonus point win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks at the Aviva Stadium.

Try machine Bowen keeping his feet on the ground

Teenage sensation Tom Bowen insists he is not getting carried away despite being the Vodacom URC’s joint top try scorer.

The 19-year-old winger crossed twice in Cardiff’s 14-8 victory over Connacht at the Arms Park, adding to his hat-trick against Munster the week before.

That means he is now level on five touchdowns with Benetton’s Louis Lynagh at the top of the league’s try chart.

Despite his tender years, his scintillating form means he is sure to be touted as a contender for a place in Wales’ autumn international squad.

But the young man is keeping his dazzling feet firmly on the ground.

“I am just loving my rugby at the moment. It’s class. I am really enjoying it,” he said.

“I am not going to get carried away with anything. I am staying grounded.

“Cardiff is my home region. I love playing for them, I love putting the jersey on and I am just really grateful to be getting the opportunities I am having.

“The least I can do is just grab them with both hands and try my best really.”

Aberdare product Bowen – who now has seven tries from his four career Vodacom URC starts – produced a neat finish for his first against Connacht, stepping inside a defender after pouching a pinpoint cross kick from fly-half Callum Sheedy,

“Fair play to Sheeds, he is on the money every time,” he said.

“Credit to him, he reads the game extremely well. He reads the picture, he creates the space, and he makes my job a lot easier, putting those kicks on the money.

“He is the assist king! He suits how we play. He’s really good, he’s class.

“We had quite a young back line out there and the way he conducts us round the field, he deserves a lot of credit for what he does.”

Bowen clinched Cardiff’s hard-fought win by scorching away for a long-range interception try four minutes from time, celebrating with a gleeful swallow dive.

“It was just relief really to finish that off,” he said.

“It was a nerve-racking game out there. It could have gone either way. But credit to the boys, they stuck in there. I thought our fight was incredible.”

The one big downside to the victory over Connacht was the serious ankle injury sustained by Wales lock Teddy Williams who was stretchered off shortly before half-time.

“I am absolutely gutted for him,” said Bowen.

“He’s a great lad and very influential on the whole team.

“His presence around has a massive effect. He is a class player.

“I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.”

Cardiff now lie fourth in the Vodacom URC table with 11 points from their opening three matches.

“If you had said that in pre-season, I think we would have bit your hand off, to be honest with you,” said Bowen.

“We have got to be really pleased with how we have started the season. The important thing is we keep performing well and keep picking up points in each game.”

There was another Welsh winner on Saturday with the Ospreys continuing their love affair with Bridgend’s Brewery Field.

It has been a real happy hunting ground for them over the past two years, serving as the setting for victories against the DHL Stormers, Sale, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.

Now it’s their home for the season – while the St Helen’s ground in Swansea is redeveloped – and they marked the start of their stay by beating Zebre 24-0 to record a first URC win of the campaign.

Coach Mark Jones said:

“We love playing here. When you get your first game in your new home for the season, you want to get off to a good start. You only get one chance to make a first impression and we showed high quality in lots of areas. So we are very happy.”

Second row James Ratti added: “We showed that teams who come to the Brewery this year are in for a contest.

“The atmosphere was great. It’s becoming a little mini cauldron for us, with the fans right on top of us. It’s always a good experience playing here.”

Giving his thoughts, the Ospreys’ Bridgend-born skipper Dewi Lake said:

“I grew up here, and I love playing here.

“We have had some very memorable wins here over the last couple of years, and this one certainly goes up there, to nil a team like Zebre, who had started the season as quickly as they had. It’s excellent for us.”

The Player of the Match award went to classy full-back Jack Walsh, who paid tribute to the home fans.

“The support was awesome. It’s massive for us,” he said.

“We worked really hard in South Africa and were pretty gutted only to come away with one point from the two games, so it’s really good to get a win.”

What’s coming next?

A bumper crowd is expected for next Saturday’s mouth-watering Irish derby between champions Leinster and high-flying Munster at Croke Park.

Twelve months ago, the meeting between the two arch-rivals at the famous Dublin stadium drew a Vodacom URC record attendance of 80,468.

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Fans are set to turn out in their droves once again as Leinster look to see if they can inflict the first defeat of the season on Munster.

It’s also derby time in Wales with the two teams in the east – the Dragons and Cardiff – locking horns at Rodney Parade.

Meanwhile, the table-topping DHL Stormers continue their European tour by travelling to Parma to take on Zebre.

Elsewhere, it’s Edinburgh v Benetton, Connacht v Vodacom Bulls, Lions v Scarlets, Hollywoodbets Sharks v Ulster, and Ospreys v Glasgow.

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