The northern hemisphere can say what it likes. There truly is no rivalry in world rugby like the storied one between the Springboks and the All Blacks.
While the history and fierce competition between the teams can be traced to the drawn series in New Zealand in 1921 and the drawn series in South Africa in 1928, the fact is that they were the best teams in the world long before then.
In 1905, the first All Blacks team to tour Great Britain, the famous “Originals”, swept all before them. A year later, the very first team to be called the Springboks did something similar.
Since then, the Boks and All Blacks have so often been playing for the world crown — unofficially and, since the advent of the Rugby World Cup, officially. Of the 10 World Cups played since 1987, the Springboks have won four and the All Blacks three.
It is, indeed, Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
And that is why the eyes of the rugby world will be fixed on Ellis Park at 5pm on Saturday for the opening Test of this latest chapter.
The wonderful thing about this first Test is that not even the most educated pundit can predict, with any certainty, who will win.
Will it be a tight, 15-12 arm wrestle or a 45-40 high-scoring thriller?
There is a feeling that the Springboks should win on home soil and because of where they are in their cycle as a team. They are arguably at their pinnacle after eight years under Rassie Erasmus’s astute stewardship, while the All Blacks have had just three Tests under Dave Rennie.
Then again, the Boks won the 2019 World Cup early in Erasmus’s tenure, and New Zealand will believe it can achieve something similar in the RGR.
One thing most rugby observers would agree on is that the All Blacks need to win the first Test if they are to have a realistic chance of taking the four-Test series. The Springboks’ depth could prove decisive as the intensity rises and injuries inevitably take their toll.
By around 7pm on Saturday, we will have answers to a hundred questions.
Fasten your seatbelts, folks, because the one thing we can predict with certainty is unrelenting drama.
Teams
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot. Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Anton Segner, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Leroy Carter.
Date: Saturday, August 22
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 5.10pm
Referee: Matthew Carley (England). Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
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