Springboks and All Blacks: a historic rugby rivalry heads to Baltimore

The world champion Springboks will make some serious cash in September when they take on fierce rivals New Zealand in Baltimore, USA.

There are several facets to this game - it is the final Test of this year’s four-Test series against the All Blacks, dubbed Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour, but it is also a money spinner for the two teams as well as a marketing exercise for international governing body World Rugby.

The USA is hosting the 2031 Rugby World Cup, and the event needs some hype in a country where rugby barely registers on the sporting radar. Who better to exhibit the game of rugby than the double-World Cup-winning Springboks and their Old Foe, the All Blacks?

The All Blacks arrive in South Africa in August and will play four matches against provincial opposition and three Tests against the Springboks before the tour is transferred to Baltimore.

The match will be played at the 71000-seater home ground of the Baltimore Ravens, the National Football League team.

The match is likely to sell out, and with ticket prices charged in US dollars, it will be a juicy payout for the teams, despite the growing strength of the Rand against the Dollar.

Both the Springboks and the All Blacks have a history of playing matches on US soil. New Zealand have played numerous games in Chicago in recent years, taking on Ireland and the USA, as well as in San Diego (v Fiji) and Washington DC (v USA).

South Africa faced the USA in Houston in 2001 and visited Washington DC in 2018 to face Wales.

The match is an unashamed effort to grow the game in the United States ahead of the 2031 World Cup, and Baltimore is one of the cities that has applied to host matches. “Taking the Springboks to new audiences and territories is a key objective for South African rugby and the opportunity to do so in a ground-breaking match against our fiercest rivals was a major determinant in where the fourth Test would be played,” said Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby.

“With fans getting the opportunity to see the Boks in action against the All Blacks in three home Tests, the chance to share the excitement in the US is an exciting one, compounded by the fact that both men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups will be heading to the US in a few years.”