They don’t call it the Greatest Rivalry for nothing…

The Springboks played their very first Test match against the British & Irish Lions on 30 July 1891 at the Crusaders Ground in Port Elizabeth.

The score was 0–4 in favour of the visitors.

If you think that looks like a strange score, that’s because the points system was very different back then. A try was only worth one point, while a conversion was worth two.

In fact, before that, a try wasn’t worth any points at all. Grounding the ball simply earned you a “try” at kicking a conversion.

That’s where the name “try” comes from.

It wasn’t until 1921 that the Springboks first locked horns with the All Blacks during their tour of New Zealand.

The series finished all square. One win each, one loss each, and the deciding Test somehow ended 0–0.

Since then, the two sides have met 110 times. No other nation has played the Springboks more often than New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the All Blacks. They’ve played Australia around 180 times.

Had it not been for the apartheid years, there’s every chance the Springboks and All Blacks would have comfortably surpassed that number.

I guess that’s why former Wallabies fullback Chris Latham wasn’t too happy when people started calling it the Greatest Rivalry.

In his eyes, the Wallabies and All Blacks are each other’s greatest rivals.

But I’ve got news for you, Chris.

Kids in South Africa and New Zealand chucking a rugby ball around in the backyard don’t grow up dreaming about playing the Wallabies…

They dream about playing in a Springboks vs All Blacks Test.

Maybe if the Wallabies were any good.

But, um…

They’re not.

Sorry.

Latham did make one point I actually agree with.

It was a little cheeky for SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby to shelve the Rugby Championship in favour of another tour between the two countries.

To me, that’s a little disrespectful to Australia and Argentina.

Especially when both unions have managed to squeeze in additional fixtures against those same teams anyway.

So the “packed schedule” argument doesn’t really hold much water.

But I guess money talks, hey?

This week marks Part One of our series on the Greatest Rivalry.

We’re going to look at the numbers that define it.

Let’s dive in.

The numbers behind this rivalry are staggering.

Between them, South Africa and New Zealand have won seven of the ten Rugby World Cups ever played.

Even more remarkably, they’re the only two nations with winning records against every other major rugby nation.

And while New Zealand remain the only team to have won more Tests than they’ve lost against South Africa, the Springboks actually have the highest winning percentage of any nation against the All Blacks.

That’s how evenly matched these two giants have been.

For the first 80 years of the rivalry, there was almost nothing between them. At the turn of the century, New Zealand held a slender 27–26 advantage.

The 2000s belonged to the All Blacks. They won 31 of the next 41 Tests and looked to have taken complete control.

Then along came Rassie Erasmus.

Since his appointment in 2018, the rivalry has swung back towards the Springboks.

South Africa has won eight of the last fifteen Tests (with one draw), including handing New Zealand their two biggest defeats in history — 57–0 in Albany in 2017 and 43–10 in Wellington last year.

Even the Rugby World Cup can’t separate them.

They’ve met six times on rugby’s biggest stage.

Three wins each.

The Springboks have won both World Cup finals between the two nations.

The last ten Tests tell their own story too.

South Africa has won seven.

And perhaps the most incredible statistic of all…

It’s been almost 50 years since the Springboks last won a Test series against the All Blacks.

The two countries have contested 12 series.

Five have gone South Africa’s way.

Five have gone New Zealand’s way.

Two were drawn.

Yet despite dominating the rivalry in recent years, the Springboks still haven’t broken that drought.

But numbers only tell part of the story.

Because the Greatest Rivalry wasn’t built on statistics alone.

It was built on moments.

And that’s exactly what we’ll dive into in Part Two next week.

Until next time,

Rudi
Aussieboks