The Springboks and All Blacks have played 112 Tests and produced the fiercest contest in rugby. Here is the full head-to-head record, rivalry history, biggest wins and why it remains rugby’s greatest rivalry. The post Springboks v All Blacks: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry appeared first on KEO.co.za .
The Springboks and All Blacks is Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. The two nations have played 112 Tests and produced the fiercest contest in rugby. Here is the full Springboks vs All Blacks record and rivalry history.
Springboks vs All Blacks: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
There is no bigger fixture in rugby than the Springboks against the All Blacks.
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It is rugby’s most loaded rivalry, the one with the deepest history, the greatest tension, and the strongest claim to excellence. Between them, South Africa and New Zealand have set the standard for what Test rugby should look like: hard, clever, physical, unrelenting. They don’t just play for points. They play for hierarchy.
As of the end of the 2025 Rugby Championship meetings, the teams had met 110 times in Test rugby. The All Blacks lead the all-time series with 63 wins, the Springboks have 43, and there have been 4 draws.
That number matters, but it only tells part of the story.
Every era has had its own version of South Africa versus New Zealand. The early tours gave it its edge, but the apartheid years also gave it political charge. Professionalism gave it speed and scale, and the rivalry, in the Rassie Erasmus era, is at its most intense.
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The raw record is straightforward enough.
The Springboks and All Blacks have played 112 Tests. New Zealand have won 64, South Africa 44, with 4 draws. That makes New Zealand the only major nation with a positive all-time record against South Africa, which is why every Springbok win over the All Blacks carries outsized value.
The recent trend, however, tells a sharper story.
The Springboks won the most recent Test in Cape Town 33-26, a week after the All Blacks won 33-16 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in the first two of three Tests in South Africa.
The two teams meet at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday to complete the South African leg of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. They meet for a fourth and final time in Baltimore, USA on Saturday the 12th September.
South Africa beat New Zealand twice in 2024 31-27 at Ellis Park and 18-12 in Cape Town to reclaim the Freedom Cup. In 2025, the All Blacks won 24-17 at Eden Park, but the Springboks answered a week later with a seismic 43-10 win in Wellington, a result SA Rugby described as the biggest defeat ever inflicted on the All Blacks.
So while New Zealand still lead the century-long rivalry overall, the modern contest is tighter, nastier and far less predictable than the old numbers suggest. The past fortnight has reinforced this.
South Africa’s biggest win, 35-7 at Twickenham a month before the 2023 World Cup, was the Boks benchmark 100-plus years in the making, but within two years that record was broken.
The new high-water mark came in Wellington on 13 September 2025, when the Springboks demolished the All Blacks 43-10. SA Rugby explicitly called it the All Blacks’ biggest defeat ever, and noted that it surpassed the 35-7 margin from London in 2023.
That matters historically and psychologically.
South Africa have always believed they can beat New Zealand. But there is a difference between belief and force. The 43-10 result was force. It was a reminder that when the Springboks got their collision game, bench impact and tactical pressure exactly right, they could break even the All Blacks in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s biggest win in the rivalry remains the brutal 57-0 victory in 2017, still South Africa’s heaviest defeat in Test history. SA Rugby itself referred to it in retrospect as a record defeat by New Zealand.
That result remains one of the rivalry’s most important reference points because it sits at the opposite end of the emotional scale from the Springboks’ recent resurgence. It was humiliation then. The modern Bok revival has been built, in part, on making sure that kind of capitulation never happens again.
The phrase is not marketing fluff.
South Africa and New Zealand have been the sport’s two most imposing rugby nations across generations. They have the tradition, the depth, the public pressure, the tactical intelligence and the expectation. More than that, each has usually been measured most accurately by how it performs against the other.
SA Rugby itself now brands the fixture as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and the 2026 tour has been designed around that idea, with four Tests scheduled between the Springboks and All Blacks, including a Test in Baltimore, USA. That commercial packaging works because it is built on a truth rugby people already understand: no fixture carries more historical weight.
There are bigger sporting events globally, but in rugby, nothing feels more final than Springboks versus All Blacks.
The latest sequence of matches has added another layer to the story.
In 2024, South Africa beat New Zealand twice in one Rugby Championship campaign, first at Ellis Park and then in Cape Town. The second win secured the Freedom Cup and kept the Springboks unbeaten in that championship stretch.
In 2025, the All Blacks protected Eden Park with a 24-17 win in Auckland, before South Africa hit back with the 43-10statement in Wellington. The official Springbok record published before the Auckland match was 108 played, 42 won, 62 lost, 4 drawn; after Auckland it became 109 played, 42 won, 63 lost, 4 drawn; and after Wellington the all-time tally moved to 110 played, 43 won, 63 lost, 4 drawn. In 2026, after the Johannesburg and Cape Town Tests, it is 112 played, 44 won by the Springboks, 4 drawn and 64 won by the All Blacks.
The All Blacks still lead the rivalry on total wins.
But the modern Springboks have changed the feel of the contest. They have beaten New Zealand in World Cup finals, beaten them back-to-back in South Africa, and in 2025 handed them the heaviest defeat in their history in their own country.
That is why the Springboks versus All Blacks fixture remains unmatched. It is not just the best rivalry because of the past. It is the best rivalry because the next chapter still matters.
And in this rivalry, more than any other in rugby, history is never finished.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour fixtures 2026
Friday 7 August: DHL Stormers v All Blacks at DHL Stadium, Cape Town. All Blacks won 38-21.
Tuesday 11 August: Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban. All Blacks won 54-0.
Saturday 15 August: Vodacom Bulls v All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria. All Blacks won 50-19.
Saturday 22 August:** First Test** – Springboks v All Blacks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg. All Blacks won 33-16.
Tuesday 25 August: Lions v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg. All Blacks won 41-35.
Saturday 29 August: Second Test – Springboks v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town. Springboks won 33-26.
Saturday 5 September: Third Test – Springboks v New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Saturday 12 September:
Saturday 12th September: Fourth Test – Springboks v New Zealand in Baltimore, Maryland
Date Status Team Score Team Score Venue 13/08/21 Test South Africa 5 New Zealand 13 Dunedin 27/08/21 Test South Africa 9 New Zealand 5 Auckland 17/09/21 Test South Africa 0 New Zealand 0 Wellington 30/06/28 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 0 Durban 21/07/28 Test South Africa 6 New Zealand 7 Johannesburg 18/08/28 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 6 Port Elizabeth 01/09/28 Test South Africa 5 New Zealand 13 Newlands 14/08/37 Test South Africa 7 New Zealand 13 Wellington 04/09/37 Test South Africa 13 New Zealand 6 Christchurch 25/09/37 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 6 Auckland 16/07/49 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 11 Newlands 13/08/49 Test South Africa 12 New Zealand 6 Johannesburg 03/09/49 Test South Africa 9 New Zealand 3 Durban 17/09/49 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 8 Port Elizabeth 14/07/56 Test South Africa 6 New Zealand 10 Dunedin 04/08/56 Test South Africa 8 New Zealand 3 Wellington 18/08/56 Test South Africa 10 New Zealand 17 Christchurch 01/09/56 Test South Africa 5 New Zealand 11 Auckland 25/06/60 Test South Africa 13 New Zealand 0 Johannesburg 23/07/60 Test South Africa 3 New Zealand 11 Newlands 13/08/60 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 11 Bloemfontein 27/08/60 Test South Africa 8 New Zealand 3 Port Elizabeth 31/07/65 Test South Africa 3 New Zealand 6 Wellington 21/08/65 Test South Africa 0 New Zealand 13 Dunedin 04/09/65 Test South Africa 19 New Zealand 16 Christchurch 18/09/65 Test South Africa 3 New Zealand 20 Auckland 25/07/70 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 6 Pretoria 08/08/70 Test South Africa 8 New Zealand 9 Newlands 29/08/70 Test South Africa 14 New Zealand 3 Port Elizabeth 12/09/70 Test South Africa 20 New Zealand 17 Johannesburg 24/07/76 Test South Africa 16 New Zealand 7 Durban 14/08/76 Test South Africa 9 New Zealand 15 Bloemfontein 04/09/76 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 10 Newlands 18/09/76 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 14 Johannesburg 15/08/81 Test South Africa 9 New Zealand 14 Christchurch 29/08/81 Test South Africa 24 New Zealand 12 Wellington 12/09/81 Test South Africa 22 New Zealand 25 Auckland 15/08/92 Test South Africa 24 New Zealand 27 Johannesburg 09/07/94 Test South Africa 14 New Zealand 22 Dunedin 23/07/94 Test South Africa 9 New Zealand 13 Wellington 06/08/94 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 18 Auckland 24/06/95 RWC South Africa 15 New Zealand 12 Johannesburg 20/07/96 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 15 Christchurch 10/08/96 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 29 Cape Town 17/08/96 Test South Africa 19 New Zealand 23 Durban 24/08/96 Test South Africa 26 New Zealand 33 Pretoria 31/08/96 Test South Africa 32 New Zealand 22 Johannesburg 19/07/97 Test South Africa 32 New Zealand 35 Johannesburg 09/08/97 Test South Africa 35 New Zealand 55 Auckland 25/07/98 Test South Africa 13 New Zealand 3 Wellington 15/08/98 Test South Africa 24 New Zealand 23 Durban 10/07/99 Test South Africa 0 New Zealand 28 Dunedin 07/08/99 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 34 Pretoria 04/11/99 RWC South Africa 22 New Zealand 18 Cardiff 22/07/00 Test South Africa 12 New Zealand 25 Christchurch 19/08/00 Test South Africa 46 New Zealand 40 Johannesburg 21/07/01 Test South Africa 3 New Zealand 12 Cape Town 25/08/01 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 26 Auckland 20/07/02 Test South Africa 20 New Zealand 41 Wellington 10/08/02 Test South Africa 23 New Zealand 30 Durban 19/07/03 Test South Africa 16 New Zealand 52 Pretoria 09/08/03 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 19 Dunedin 08/11/03 RWC South Africa 9 New Zealand 29 Melbourne 24/07/04 Test South Africa 21 New Zealand 23 Christchurch 14/08/04 Test South Africa 40 New Zealand 26 Johannesburg 06/08/05 Test South Africa 22 New Zealand 16 Cape Town 27/08/05 Test South Africa 27 New Zealand 31 Dunedin 22/07/06 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 35 Wellington 26/08/06 Test South Africa 26 New Zealand 45 Pretoria 02/09/06 Test South Africa 21 New Zealand 20 Rustenburg 23/06/07 Test South Africa 21 New Zealand 26 Durban 14/07/07 Test South Africa 6 New Zealand 33 Christchurch 05/07/08 Test South Africa 8 New Zealand 19 Wellington 12/07/08 Test South Africa 30 New Zealand 28 Dunedin 16/08/08 Test South Africa 0 New Zealand 19 Newlands 25/07/09 Test South Africa 28 New Zealand 19 Bloemfontein 01/08/09 Test South Africa 31 New Zealand 19 Durban 12/09/09 Test South Africa 32 New Zealand 29 Hamilton 10/07/10 Test South Africa 12 New Zealand 32 Auckland 17/07/10 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 31 Wellington 21/08/10 Test South Africa 22 New Zealand 29 Soweto 30/07/11 Test South Africa 7 New Zealand 40 Wellington 20/09/11 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 5 Port Elizabeth 15/09/12 Test South Africa 11 New Zealand 21 Dunedin 06/10/12 Test South Africa 16 New Zealand 32 Johannesburg 14/09/13 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 29 Auckland 05/10/13 Test South Africa 27 New Zealand 38 Johannesburg 13/09/14 Test South Africa 10 New Zealand 14 Wellington 04/10/14 Test South Africa 27 New Zealand 25 Johannesburg 25/07/15 Test South Africa 20 New Zealand 27 Johannesburg 24/10/15 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 20 London 17/09/16 Test South Africa 13 New Zealand 41 Christchurch 08/10/16 Test South Africa 15 New Zealand 57 Durban 16/09/17 Test South Africa 0 New Zealand 57 Albany 07/10/17 Test South Africa 24 New Zealand 25 Cape Town 15/09/18 Test South Africa 36 New Zealand 34 Wellington 06/10/18 Test South Africa 30 New Zealand 32 Pretoria 27/07/19 Test South Africa 16 New Zealand 16 Wellington 21/09/19 RWC South Africa 13 New Zealand 23 Japan 25/09/21 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 19 Queensland 02/10/21 Test South Africa 31 New Zealand 29 Queensland 06/08/22 Test South Africa 26 New Zealand 10 Mbombela 13/08/22 Test South Africa 23 New Zealand 35 Johannesburg 15/07/23 Test South Africa 20 New Zealand 35 Auckland 25/08/23 Test South Africa 35 New Zealand 7 London 28/10/23 RWC South Africa 12 New Zealand 11 Paris 31/08/24 Test South Africa 31 New Zealand 27 Johannesburg 07/09/24 Test South Africa 18 New Zealand 12 Cape Town 06/09/25 Test South Africa 17 New Zealand 24 Dunedin 13/09/25 Test South Africa 43 New Zealand 10 Wellington 22/08/26 Test South Africa 16 New Zealand 33 Johannesburg 29/08/26 Test South Africa 33 New Zealand 26 Cape Town
Total points
1,834
2,284
Games Played
South Africa
New Zealand
Drawn
Played
Won
Won
Drawn
Overall Record 112 44 64 4 At South African Venues 57 29 26 1 At New Zealand Venues 47 10 33 3 RWC 8 4 4 0
Top Points Scorers
Name Country Points Tries Conversions Penalties Drop Goals Dan Carter NZ 221 3 25 51 1 Andrew Mehrtens NZ 209 0 19 53 4 Beauden Barrett NZ 174 4 23 36 0 Handre Pollard SA 109 2 18 19 2 Percy Montgomery SA 103 1 16 19 3 Carlos Spencer NZ 84 3 12 15 0 Morne Steyn SA 71 1 3 19 1 Joel Stransky SA 54 0 3 14 2 Christian Cullen NZ 50 10 0 0 0 Naas Botha SA 44 0 7 9 1 Andre Pretorius SA 41 1 6 6 2 Joe Rokococo NZ 45 9 0 0 0 Braam van Straaten SA 40 0 5 10 0 Bryan Habana SA 40 8 0 0 0
RUGBY’S GREATEST RIVALRY – IT DOES NOT GET BIGGER THAN SPRINGBOKS v ALL BLACKS
What is the Springboks vs All Blacks record?
The All Blacks lead the all-time Test rivalry 64 wins to 44, with 4 draws after 112 matches.
What is the Springboks’ biggest win over the All Blacks?
South Africa’s biggest win over New Zealand is the 43-10 victory in Wellington on 13 September 2025.
What is the All Blacks’ biggest win over the Springboks?
New Zealand’s biggest win over South Africa is 57-0 in 2017.
Why is Springboks vs All Blacks called rugby’s greatest rivalry?
Because it combines more than a century of Test history, elite winning standards, repeated title-deciding matches and consistent relevance at the top of world rugby. SA Rugby now officially uses the term “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” for the fixture. The two nations have combined for seven World Cup titles.
The Springboks and All Blacks had played 112 Tests by the end of August, 2026. New Zealand lead the rivalry 64 wins to South Africa’s 44, with 4 draws. South Africa’s current split is 29 wins, 26 losses and 1 draw at South African venues; 10 wins, 33 losses and 3 draws at New Zealand venues; and 4 wins, 2 losses, 0 draws at Rugby World Cup meetings.
The rivalry began with South Africa’s 1921 tour of New Zealand. That first official Test series finished 1-1 with one draw, the decider ending 0-0 in Wellington. The 1928 All Blacks tour of South Africa finished 2-2. Those two tours established the rivalry’s core pattern: long tours, brutal series, and no easy separation between the teams.
Most wins in the rivalry: New Zealand 64
Most losses in the rivalry: South Africa 44.
Most draws in the rivalry: 4.
Springboks’ biggest win over the All Blacks: 43-10 in Wellington on 13 September 2025. SA Rugby called it the All Blacks’ biggest defeat ever.
Previous Springbok record win over New Zealand: 35-7 at Twickenham on 25 August 2023. SA Rugby stated that the 28-point margin was then a new South African record against the All Blacks and that it was New Zealand’s heaviest defeat at the time.
All Blacks’ biggest win over the Springboks: 57-0 at Albany on 16 September 2017. SA Rugby’s 2017 annual report described it as the Springboks’ heaviest defeat in history.
Highest score by South Africa against New Zealand: 46, in the 46-40 win at Johannesburg on 19 August 2000. NZ Rugby Stats also credits that match with South Africa’s rivalry high for tries in a Test, at 6.
Highest score by New Zealand against South Africa: 57, in the 57-0 win in 2017.
Highest combined score in a Springboks-All Blacks Test: 86 points, South Africa 46 New Zealand 40, Johannesburg, 19 August 2000.
Lowest-scoring draw: 0-0, Wellington, 1921 series decider.
Most emphatic South African shutout of New Zealand: 17-0 in Durban in 1928, still South Africa’s biggest winning margin in the rivalry according to SA Rugby Stats.
Longest Springbok winning streak: 6 Tests, from the 1937 tour to New Zealand through the 1949 whitewash in South Africa. SA Rugby states the six-match run lasted from 1937 to 1949.
Longest All Blacks winning streak: 8 Tests, from 21 July 2001 through 24 July 2004, based on the full official chronological results list.
Best Springbok run in New Zealand in the professional era: the Boks were unbeaten in three straight Tests at Sky Stadium, winning in 2018, drawing in 2019, and winning 43-10 in 2025.
Eden Park hoodoo: SA Rugby stated before the 2025 Auckland Test that South Africa had not beaten New Zealand at Eden Park since 1937. The All Blacks won there again on 6 September 2025.
Ellis Park edge: Planet Rugby’s venue audit put the rivalry at Ellis Park at 15 Tests, with South Africa winning 9 and New Zealand 6, and South Africa leading points 352-328 there.
The teams have met 8 times at Rugby World Cups, with 4 wins each. SA Rugby’s 2019 pre-match official numbers had the rivalry at 4 World Cup meetings and 2-2 before Japan; adding South Africa’s wins in the 2023 final and New Zealand’s pool win in 2019 brings the current World Cup ledger to 4-4, which matches the full results list.
World Cup finals between them: 2. South Africa won both: 15-12 after extra time in 1995, and 12-11 in Paris in 2023.
Other World Cup meetings: South Africa won the 1999 bronze final 22-18; New Zealand won the 2003 quarter-final 29-9, the 2015 semi-final 20-18, and the 2019 pool match 23-13.
The Freedom Cup was first contested in 2004. By the end of the 2025 matches, New Zealand had won it 25 times to South Africa’s 14, with one drawn edition in the official Freedom Cup record. South Africa won it in 2024 for the first time since 2009 and retained it in 2025.
The cleanest verified rivalry-specific individual table available in the sourced material is the** SA Rugby Stats head-to-head page**.
Top points scorers in Springboks-All Blacks Tests
**Top try scorers in the rivalry **
Christian Cullen (NZL) 10; Joe Rokocoko (NZL) 9; Bryan Habana (SA) 8. The same table also shows Dan Carter scored 3 tries, Beauden Barrett 4, Handre Pollard 2 and Percy Montgomery 1 as part of their points totals.
Siya Kolisi captained South Africa to four consecutive wins over New Zealand across 2023-24 before the Eden Park loss in 2025. SA Rugby’s official build-up to Cape Town 2024 said a fourth straight win would be only the second such Bok sequence in history, after the 1937-49 run; South Africa then won in Cape Town, and Rugby365 described the Boks as having recorded four consecutive victories over the All Blacks.
1928 first official All Blacks tour of South Africa; Test series drawn 2-2.
1949 Springboks won the series 4-0, one of the defining series results in rugby history. NZHistory says the whitewash plunged New Zealand into despair.
1960 All Blacks toured South Africa; Springboks won the four-Test series 2-1 with one draw.
1967 planned All Blacks tour cancelled because South Africa refused to accept Māori players.
1970 All Blacks toured after the “honorary whites” compromise; Springboks won the series 3-1.
1976 All Blacks toured South Africa; Springboks won 3-1. The tour triggered major international backlash and helped drive the African-led boycott of the Montreal Olympics.
1985 planned official tour stopped by the New Zealand High Court.
1986 Cavaliers rebel tour, not an official All Blacks tour; South Africa won that unofficial series 3-1.
1992 first official meeting after readmission, one-off Test at Ellis Park, won 27-24 by New Zealand.
1996 the great professional-era watershed. New Zealand won the away Test series 2-1, their first official series win in South Africa. SA Rugby’s 2025 announcement called 1996 New Zealand’s last major tour of South Africa.
2026 officially announced return tour, the first major All Blacks tour of South Africa since 1996, with matches against the franchises and a four-Test Bok series.
1921 first Springbok tour to New Zealand; series drawn 1-1 with one draw.
1937 Springboks won the series 2-1; SA Rugby Stats notes that side was called “the best team to ever leave New Zealand.”
1956 All Blacks won 3-1, their first series win over South Africa. NZHistory calls it one of the bitterest series ever played.
1965 All Blacks won 3-1.
1973 planned Springbok tour to New Zealand was blocked by Prime Minister Norman Kirk on public-safety grounds.
1981 Springbok tour went ahead despite the Gleneagles climate; New Zealand won the series 2-1. NZHistory records the tour as one of the most divisive episodes in New Zealand history.
1994 first full Bok series in New Zealand after isolation; All Blacks won 2-0 with one draw.
1996 South Africa played a three-Test mid-year series in New Zealand and lost all three.
2030 officially announced as South Africa’s first professional-era tour to New Zealand.
South Africa have won only 10 of 47 Tests at New Zealand venues, which tells you how rare Bok wins in New Zealand really are.
The Springboks’ 36-34 win in Wellington in 2018 was, per SA Rugby, the first time any team had scored 36 points against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil.
The 35-7 win at Twickenham in 2023 was New Zealand’s heaviest defeat until the 43-10 loss in Wellington in 2025 overtook it. SA Rugby stated both records at the time.
South Africa’s 1949 whitewash and New Zealand’s 1956 series win remain two of the rivalry’s great reference points; NZHistory treats both as nation-shaping rugby events.
The rivalry has produced two Rugby World Cup finals and eight World Cup meetings overall. No other fixture in men’s Test rugby carries that combination of depth, volume and silverware history. The record book backs the mythology.
