South Africa and New Zealand, the two nations whose rugby rivalry stretches back to 1921, begin a full-scale tour series this week that neither has attempted in three decades.

The Springboks have unveiled a commemorative jersey they describe as "like no other," to be worn four times during the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry (RGR) tour and then retired. The kit launch lands on the same day the All Blacks open their eight-match South African schedule against the Stormers at DHL Stadium in Cape Town — the first fixture of a tour that runs through August and September 2026 The Guardian.

The RGR tour replaces the Rugby Championship in 2026. South Africa and New Zealand are the only participants, with no reduced-format tournament involving Australia or Argentina. The All Blacks named a 44-strong squad for the trip, which also includes a stop in the United States AllBlacks.com. Head coach Dave Rennie selected the group AllBlacks.com.

Between 7 and 15 August, New Zealand's men face four South African provincial sides: the Stormers in Cape Town, the Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban, the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, and the Lions at a venue yet to be confirmed AllBlacks.com. Those midweek and weekend fixtures serve as a modern echo of old-style touring rugby, where visiting teams played local clubs and provinces between Tests — a format largely abandoned in the professional era.

The four Tests against the Springboks begin on 22 August 2026 greatest-rivalry.com. The women's sides of both nations will also meet in a one-off Test as part of the series The Guardian.

South Africa's 2026 season opened earlier in the year against the Barbarians — the famous invitation side made up of players from many clubs — in Gqeberha SA Rugby. But RGR is the centrepiece, arriving just weeks after the launch of the inaugural Nations Championship, a new global men's competition The Guardian.

This is the first All Blacks tour of South Africa since 1996, when New Zealand won their first series on South African soil a year after losing the World Cup final at Ellis Park The Guardian. The Springboks will reciprocate in 2030, travelling to New Zealand for the second RGR instalment, with the British & Irish Lions — the combined side of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales — touring New Zealand in between, in 2029.

Mark Alexander, president of the South African rugby union, has said he believes the RGR series can surpass even the Lions tours in stature, a bold claim given that the Lions' quadrennial trips are among rugby's most celebrated events The Guardian.

A legal dispute in South Africa currently hangs over the series, concerning the commercial identity of the RGR brand and what has been described as its unauthorised use The Guardian. Details remain limited, but the case adds an off-field tension to a series already carrying enormous commercial and sporting weight.

For fans, the appeal is straightforward. Four Tests between the world's two most successful rugby nations, plus a return to the touring format that gave the sport some of its most romantic stories, is a package rugby has not offered in a generation. Whether it becomes a permanent fixture or a one-off spectacle may depend on what unfolds both on the pitch and in the courtroom.