A rivalry in numbers: Springboks v All Blacks

New Zealand and South Africa renew one of international rugby’s great rivalries at 10bet Ellis Park in Johannesburg this weekend, beginning a four-Test series between two nations whose shared history stretches back more than a century.

From 110 Tests and 105 years of rivalry to record scores, Rugby World Cup triumphs and one historic tour 30 years ago, we look at some of the numbers behind the All Blacks-Springboks rivalry.

110: Tests

Saturday’s Test will be the 111th meeting between the All Blacks and the Boks.

Across the first 110 Tests, the All Blacks have won 63, South Africa have won 43 and four have finished in draws, giving New Zealand a 57% winning record.

The most recent two meetings came in New Zealand in 2025, with the honours shared. The All Blacks won 24-17 at Eden Park, before South Africa responded with a 43-10 victory in Wellington a week later.

105: Years

The rivalry began in 1921, when South Africa toured New Zealand for the first time.

More than a century later, the two sides remain at the forefront of the international game, with their 2026 series taking the rivalry into its 105th year.

63: All Blacks victories

New Zealand have beaten the Springboks 63 times, more than any nation other than Australia.

Those victories have come across generations of the rivalry, from their first win over South Africa on South African soil in 1928 to famous modern-day victories at venues including Ellis Park, Loftus Versfeld and Newlands.

43: Springbok victories

South Africa have recorded 43 Test wins over the All Blacks.

Their most recent came in Wellington in September 2025, when a 43-10 victory produced a 33-point margin, the heaviest defeat in All Blacks Test history.

It came just seven days after the All Blacks had beaten the Springboks at Eden Park, underlining just how quickly momentum can swing in this rivalry.

4: Draws

For all the rugby played between the two sides, only four of the first 110 Tests have finished level.

The very first series in 1921 finished one Test apiece with one draw, while the return series in South Africa in 1928 was also shared.

57: The All Blacks’ highest score

The most points the All Blacks have scored against South Africa in a Test is 57.

They first reached the mark in a stunning 57-15 victory in Durban in 2016, scoring a rivalry-record nine tries.

Less than a year later, they did it again, defeating the Springboks 57-0 in Albany in 2017, which remains the biggest winning margin by either side in the rivalry.

46: South Africa’s highest score

The Springboks’ highest score against the All Blacks is 46 points, recorded in one of the great Ellis Park shoot-outs.

South Africa won 46-40 in Johannesburg on 19 August 2000, crossing for six tries. Both the 46 points and six tries remain South African records against the All Blacks.

Twenty-six years later, the rivalry returns to the same famous venue.

255: Carter’s points

No player has scored more points in All Black-Springbok Tests than Dan Carter.

Carter accumulated 255 points from 21 appearances against the Springboks, comfortably ahead of fellow All Blacks flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens, who scored 209 points in 18 Tests.

Current All Black Beauden Barrett has also passed 100 points in the rivalry, with 107 points from 26 appearances.

7: Seven World Cups from the last 10

The rivalry is about more than head-to-head results.

New Zealand and South Africa have combined to win seven of the 10 Rugby World Cups contested since the tournament began in 1987.

The All Blacks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015, while the current World Champion Boks have won it four times, in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023.

Two of those finals have been played directly between the great rivals.

South Africa won 15-12 after extra-time at Ellis Park in 1995, before edging the All Blacks 12-11 at Stade de France in 2023.

It should also be noted that South Africa did not play in the first two Rugby World Cup tournaments in 1987 and 1991.

1: One Point

One point has separated the teams in some of the rivalry’s most significant Tests.

In 1928, the All Blacks beat South Africa 7-6 at Ellis Park, their first Test victory against the Springboks on South African soil. Archie Strang’s late drop goal provided the winning points.

Ninety-five years later, South Africa’s 12-11 victory in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final was also decided by a solitary point.

30: Years since 1996

The 2026 Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour comes 30 years after the All Blacks’ historic 1996 tour of South Africa.

That team became the first New Zealand side to win a Test series on South African soil, achieving something New Zealand teams had been chasing for decades.

Three decades later, the All Blacks are undertaking their first full tour of South Africa since 1996.

8: Matches on the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour

This year’s tour features eight matches, bringing back the feel of the traditional tours of the past.

The All Blacks face the DHL Stormers, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and Fidelity ADT Lions, as well as four Tests against the Springboks.

The opening Test takes place at Ellis Park this Saturday, before the series moves to Cape Town and then returns to Johannesburg at FNB Stadium.

4: Tests to decide the latest chapter

For the first time in the professional era, the All Blacks and Springboks will contest a four-Test series.

After three Tests in South Africa, the rivalry heads somewhere entirely new.

The fourth and final Test will be played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September, providing an historic American finale to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.