The matches against the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls will have the All Blacks competing in Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria in the space of eight days, the second fixture being played on a Tuesday.
“It’s great to do it again and get old school on it and have midweek games and sort of replicate the [British and Irish] Lions in some ways, but with our own storied history with Springboks, which, when you look at the annuals, it’s pretty special,” Robertson said.
“The amount of big occasions we’ve had and another one’s ahead next year.”
While there is no Rugby Championship in 2026, Robertson said the All Blacks would still be playing Bledisloe Cup tests against Australia.
The tour is a welcome addition to the calendar as the two sides prepare for their 2027 Rugby World Cup campaigns, with the top two sides in World Rugby’s rankings playing four tests against one another rather than the regular two.
Springboks coach Erasmus noted, however, that while the tour shapes as great World Cup preparation, that wasn’t to say Australia and Argentina “were not worthy opponents”, pointing out both sides have beaten the Springboks in the past two years.
“For us, as South Africans, who when we had our apartheid era and the Flower Bomb test match and the Cavaliers touring here, there’s a lot of history between us and New Zealand. I think that maybe I would feel the name of the tournament, the Greatest Rivalry, comes from that, because there’s some on and off the field things that we’ve done together, which they’ve helped us with and we’ve helped them with,” he said.
“We can prepare as well as we can. We can build squad depth, and we must try to beat a team who have probably been the benchmark the last 20 years in world rugby. And we all know somewhere they’re going to get back on to the horse and really gallop well with that horse. So, we won’t look too far ahead, but, it’s great opposition, but by that I don’t say Australia and Argentina is much less of opposition.”
As well as confirming the 2026 slate, South Africa will visit New Zealand for the next edition of the tour in 2030.
All Blacks fixtures for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour 2026
Friday, August 7: v Stormers, DHL Stadium, Cape Town.
Tuesday, August 11: v Sharks, Kings Park, Durban.
Saturday, August 15: v Bulls, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.
Saturday, August 22: v South Africa, Ellis Park, Johannesburg.
Tuesday, August 25: v Lions, Ellis Park, Johannesburg.
Saturday, August 29: v South Africa, DHL Stadium, Cape Town.
Saturday, September 5: v South Africa, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg.
Saturday, September 12: v South Africa. Neutral venue to be announced.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
