The All Blacks and the Springboks enjoy a rivalry that needs no introduction. With six Rugby World Cup crowns between them, any meeting between New Zealand and South Africa is one to savour.
Willemse describes the Springboks vs All Blacks rivalry
As former Springbok wing Ashwin Willemse told Sky Sports some years ago, growing up in South Africa with rugby as your sport of choice brought hopes of playing against one team: The All Blacks.
“We grow up in a nation where there’s one game that we all hoped to one day play, and that’s a Test match against the All Blacks,” Willemse said.
“I think this game captures the essence of sport: mutual respect, understanding, sportsmanship and gratitude. It’s all those amazing virtues that have been captured through a big rugby rivalry.
“It represents a lifetime of dreams, hopes, and beliefs. It all culminates in that moment, that is what it has meant to me to play against the All Blacks.
“Arguably the greatest derby in world rugby. There is a lifelong tradition between the two teams, and there is a tremendous amount of respect.”
Contrasts in style
In any sporting rivalry, what often makes head-to-head battles intriguing is the differences between adversaries. The All Blacks are known for their expansive, fast, flamboyant, flair-filled game, which gets fans out of their seats. The Springboks are always powerful and brutal. However, both are capable of swapping out traits from the other.
All Blacks dominate the Rugby Championship and Tri-Nations
The Wallabies and Springboks have given New Zealand a tough time in these competitions, but the All Blacks remain utterly dominant. They’ve won 19 titles from a possible 27 since 1996.
Nelson Mandela and the most magical Madiba moment
Meanwhile, the 1995 final will never be forgotten. Joel Stransky’s drop-kick settled the contest in extra time, producing a 15-12 scoreline to be forever etched in the hearts and minds of fanatical Bok supporters and indeed all South Africans. As skipper Francois Pienaar said with the William Webb Ellis trophy in his hands, “We didn’t have 60,000 South Africans, we had 43 million South Africans.” Images of Pienaar alongside then-president Nelson Mandela still adorn walls across the land.
Springboks correcting the deficit
The All Blacks, for the record, have won three of the last four RWC meetings between the sides. A 2019 pool stage win ended up proving academic with the Boks shrugging it off to win the title in Japan. NZ couldn’t go all the way in 2003 despite beating the Boks in the quarter-finals, with England winning down under. The All Blacks did go all the way to glory in 2015, though, after vanquishing South Africa in the semi-finals at Twickenham and then the Wallabies in the final. The most recent World Cup meeting was that titanic struggle that the Boks won 22-21 in the 2023 final.
All-time H2H record still favours the All Blacks
The sides have met 106 times in their storied respective pasts, with the All Blacks registering 62 wins, the Springboks 40, and four draws. In the two biggest meetings between the sides, the Springboks have prevailed in the 1995 and 2023 Rugby World Cup finals.
Are these the two greatest rugby nations ever? That’s a rhetorical question!
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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/springboks/springboks-vs-all-blacks-a-goat-rivalry-in-numbers/
