The first Test between the two nations was played in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1921, when a Springbok side touring by sea arrived for a series against the All Blacks. Fittingly for a rivalry defined by fine margins, that opening match ended in a 0-0 draw, and the series was shared.
In those early decades, tours were epic undertakings. Teams spent weeks at sea, played matches across months, and returned home as national heroes or villains depending on the result. The tours between the two countries became major sporting events on both ends of the world, followed obsessively by fans in New Zealand and South Africa.
The results swung back and forth in memorable waves. South Africa claimed a famous series win in New Zealand in 1937, then delivered a full series whitewash when the All Blacks toured in 1949, a low point in New Zealand rugby history. New Zealand answered in 1956, winning a home series against the Springboks for the first time, a result celebrated across the country.
That pattern, dominance traded back and forth, has defined the rivalry ever since.
More Than a Game: The 1981 Tour
Not every chapter of this rivalry was played out purely on the field. The 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand became one of the most consequential sporting events of the twentieth century, and not for the rugby alone.
South Africa's apartheid policies had made its sports teams deeply controversial abroad, and the decision to allow the tour split New Zealand society down the middle. Protesters marched in their tens of thousands. One match in Hamilton was abandoned after protesters invaded the pitch, and during the third Test at Eden Park in Auckland, a light aircraft circled the stadium dropping flour bombs onto the field.
The tour forced New Zealanders, and the wider sporting world, to confront the question of whether sport should engage with an apartheid state. In the years that followed, South Africa was progressively isolated from international competition, and the All Blacks and Springboks did not meet regularly again until the country's readmission to world sport in the early 1990s.
1995: The Final That Transcended Rugby
When South Africa returned to the international stage, the rivalry resumed with extraordinary drama. The 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted by South Africa, culminated in a final between the Springboks and the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, a match that has become part of sporting folklore.
New Zealand arrived with Jonah Lomu, whose performances throughout the tournament had made him the most feared player in the world. South Africa neutralized him, and the final went to extra time locked at 9-9 before a drop goal sealed a 15-12 victory for the Springboks.
What happened afterward made the match historic. Nelson Mandela, in one of the defining images of post-apartheid reconciliation, presented the trophy wearing a Springbok jersey and cap, a gesture of unity from a newly elected president toward a team and a symbol once associated with the old order. The 1995 final is remembered less as a rugby match than as a moment when sport helped a nation reimagine itself.
The Modern Era: Freedom Cup and the Rugby Championship
In the professional age, the rivalry found a regular home. New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia launched the Tri Nations in 1996, a competition that evolved into the Rugby Championship when Argentina joined in 2012. Within it, the All Blacks and Springboks contest the Freedom Cup, a trophy first presented in the 1930s and revived in the modern era, ensuring the two sides meet at least once a year in most seasons.
The 2000s and early 2010s belonged largely to New Zealand. Under coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, and led by captains such as Richie McCaw, the All Blacks built one of the great dynasties in team sport, winning World Cups in 2011 and 2015 and setting a standard of sustained excellence few teams have matched. Matches against the Springboks, with their brutal forward exchanges and trademark physicality, were consistently regarded as the sternest tests of that era.
South Africa, meanwhile, rebuilt around its traditional strengths: a towering pack, a ferocious defensive game, and an increasingly refined kicking strategy. Under the leadership of coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi, the country's first Black Test captain, the Springboks won the 2019 World Cup in Japan and followed it with another title in France in 2023, becoming the first nation to win the tournament four times.
World Cup Drama: Six Meetings, Dead Even
The World Cup has produced some of the rivalry's most unforgettable chapters, and remarkably, the head-to-head record in World Cup matches stands level.
South Africa won the 1995 final and a third-place playoff in 1999. New Zealand answered with victories in the 2003 quarter-final and a famously tense 8-7 quarter-final win on home soil in 2011. The 2015 semi-final at Twickenham delivered another classic, with the All Blacks prevailing 20-18 over a Springbok side that pushed them to the final whistle.
Then came Paris 2023. The World Cup final between the two nations, the first final pairing in the tournament's history to be repeated, was as tight as rugby at the highest level can be. South Africa won 12-11, built on the reliable boot of Handré Pollard, while New Zealand fought to the end, scoring late and finishing the match camped on the Springbok line. A yellow card to All Blacks captain Sam Cane, reviewed at length by the officials, shaped the contest as much as anything. The result gave South Africa a record fourth World Cup title and left New Zealand, champions three times, agonizingly close.
Three World Cup wins each. A fitting state of affairs for a rivalry defined by balance.
Why This Rivalry Feels Different
Part of what sets New Zealand versus South Africa apart is the contrast in styles and settings. The All Blacks have long been associated with attacking flair, offloading skill, and the haka, the pre-match challenge that adds a layer of theatre no other fixture provides. The Springboks have historically built their identity on set-piece power, defensive toughness, and an ability to win the tight, grinding matches that decide championships.
The venues add their own character. Ellis Park in Johannesburg sits at significant altitude, and visiting teams have long spoken about the challenge of playing there. Matches in New Zealand bring their own intensity, with packed stadiums and a home crowd that treats every Springbok tour as an event.
There is also mutual respect beneath the intensity. Players from both camps have consistently described these Tests as the hardest they play, and many of the game's most revered figures, from Colin Meads and Bryan Habana to Dan Carter, Victor Matfield, Richie McCaw, Eben Etzebeth, and Beauden Barrett, have produced defining performances in this fixture.
Where the Rivalry Stands Today
The two teams continue to meet in the Rugby Championship, typically during the August-to-September window, and any World Cup draw that pairs them generates immediate anticipation. Recent years have seen the pendulum swing toward South Africa, with the Springboks claiming major trophies and big-match victories, while New Zealand remains a constant contender and a side capable of beating anyone on its day.
For fans wanting to follow the rivalry, the Rugby Championship is the most reliable annual stage, with matches broadcast across major sports networks and streaming platforms depending on your region. World Cup meetings, as recent history shows, tend to arrive with the highest possible stakes attached.
A rivalry that began with a scoreless draw in 1921 has grown into the benchmark by which international rugby measures itself. New Zealand and South Africa have traded blows, trophies, and eras of dominance for over a hundred years, and based on the last few seasons alone, there is no sign of the balance tipping permanently in either direction. For as long as the All Blacks and Springboks keep meeting, rugby's greatest rivalry will keep producing moments worth remembering.