Rugby fans across South Africa will have their first chance in nearly three decades to watch the All Blacks play on home soil, when New Zealand’s national team arrives for a full tour beginning Friday, 7 August 2026. The last comparable visit was in 1996, meaning most United Rugby Championship players, as SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer pointed out, were not yet born when the All Blacks last faced a South African provincial side.
For ordinary supporters, the itinerary is substantial. Nine matches spread across five weeks give fans in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Soweto the opportunity to see the tourists in person. The four provincial franchises, the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls, and Lions, each host a match before the Springboks face the All Blacks in four Tests. A women’s fixture between the Black Ferns and Springbok Women at FNB Stadium in Soweto on 5 September adds a historic dimension to the schedule.
Tickets for the four provincial matches and the third Test remain available to the public, making this the most accessible window for fans who want to attend.
The provincial leg opens at Cape Town Stadium on 7 August at 7.10pm, when the Stormers host the All Blacks. All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie will hold a welcome event for supporters at the same venue earlier that day. The Sharks follow at Kings Park in Durban on Tuesday, 11 August at 7.10pm, and the Bulls take their turn at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, 15 August, also at 7.10pm.
The Test series then begins. The first Test is at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 22 August at 5.10pm, followed by the Lions hosting the All Blacks at the same venue on Tuesday, 25 August at 7.10pm. The second Test moves back to Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, 29 August at 5.10pm.
The third Test weekend at FNB Stadium in Soweto on 5 September carries particular weight for women’s rugby. The Springbok Women and Black Ferns kick off at 1.30pm, with the men’s Test following at 5.10pm at the same ground. The fourth and final Test takes place at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, 12 September, at 11pm South African Standard Time.
Oberholzer underlined just how rare the occasion is. “It won’t be repeated here for another eight years, by which time there’ll have been two more Rugby World Cups and four Nations Championships, which underlines just what a unique opportunity it will be for provincial players and fans.” He also raised a piece of history that sharpens the provincial stakes: the last South African provincial side to beat the All Blacks was the Cheetahs, then known as Orange Free State, who won 15-10 in September 1976. “The prospect of perhaps becoming the first South African provincial team to beat the All Blacks since then would be a boast that would last for another 50 years,” Oberholzer said.
SA Rugby President Mark Alexander placed the series in a broader civic frame. “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry is more than a contest between two proud nations; it is a celebration of history, tradition and the enduring spirit of the game,” he said. “Each encounter between South Africa and New Zealand carries with it the weight of decades of competition, respect and shared excellence.” Alexander’s point about the fixture uniting communities across borders carries practical meaning here: the tour moves through five cities, reaches both men’s and women’s rugby, and closes on an international stage in Baltimore.
Whether any provincial side can end a 50-year drought against the All Blacks is the question that will follow the tour from Cape Town to Soweto and beyond.