Springboks vs All Blacks: Baltimore confirmed as final stop on 2026 Greatest Rugby Rivalry tour

by Devesh Jaganath

image Springboks vs All Blacks: Baltimore confirmed as final stop on 2026 Greatest Rugby Rivalry tour
We’re into the New Year, and 2026 is already shaping up to be an incredible one for rugby fans, headlined by South Africa facing New Zealand in the Greatest Rugby Rivalry tour between August and September. The Boks and the All Blacks will lock horns in four Tests, with the final match now confirmed to be hosted stateside in Baltimore.

Southern Hemisphere giants set for historic battle in the US

While some rugby fans may be a tad disappointed that there will be no Rugby Championship this year, what we can look forward to is the All Blacks embarking on a British & Irish Lions-style tour of South Africa between August and September, which we will be covering in our rugby predictions. 

New Zealand will face all four of South Africa’s franchise teams, the DHL Stormers, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and the Lions between August 7 and 29, while the Springbok Women and Black Ferns are also set to do battle during the Greatest Rugby Rivalry tour.

Of course, the main attraction will be the Springboks taking on the All Blacks, and there are four mouth-watering Tests on the cards, with the finale set to take place at the iconic home of the Baltimore Ravens, the M&T Bank Stadium in the United States, on September 12. 

Both teams have played in the US previously, with the All Blacks having faced Ireland, the USA and Ireland in Chicago, as well as Fiji and the USA (again) in San Diego. The Boks took on the USA in Houston in 2001 and met Wales in Washington DC back in 2018. 

Baltimore is bidding to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031, and bringing world rugby’s most successful nations to their shores underlines their ambition to expand the game to the West and accelerate fan engagement across the US. 

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series schedule 2026: 

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  • Friday 7 August: DHL Stormers v All Blacks, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
  • Tuesday 11 August: Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks, Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
  • Saturday 15 August: Vodacom Bulls v All Blacks, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
  • Saturday 22 August: Springboks v All Blacks, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (first test)
  • Tuesday 25 August: Lions v All Blacks, Ellis Park, Johannesburg
  • Saturday 29 August: Springboks v All Blacks, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (second test)
  • Saturday 5 September: Springbok Women v Black Ferns, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
  • Saturday 5 September: Springboks v All Blacks, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (third test)
  • Saturday 12 September: Springboks v All Blacks, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, USA (fourth test)