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All Blacks survive Lions scare to complete franchise clean sweep

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All Blacks Ethan Blackadder scores a try during the All Blacks v Lions match, Rugbys Greatest Rivalry, Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, 25 August 2026. (Photo by Anton Geyser / action press)

The All Blacks completed a clean sweep of the franchise fixtures on the Greatest Rivalry Tour, but only after producing a remarkable comeback to beat the Lions 41-35 in a breathless 12-try thriller at Ellis Park. Trailing 17-35 in the second half, Rieko Ioane’s individual brilliance and Ethan Blackadder’s extraordinary all-action display inspired 24 unanswered points as the tourists survived the most serious scare of their tour.

Key moments

Pre-match – Late change: Ofa Tu’ungafasi ruled out with illness. Xavier Numia replaces him on the bench.

5 mins – TRY LIONS: Nico Steyn sells a dummy from a ruck and bursts through to score under the posts. Chris Smith converts. (Lions 7–0 All Blacks)

7 mins – TRY LIONS: Siba Mahashe intercepts a loose Ethan Blackadder loop pass after a lineout and races away to score. Smith converts. (Lions 14–0 All Blacks)

17 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Emoni Narawa scoops the ball from a ruck, beats three defenders and sends Noah Hotham over. Beauden Barrett converts. (Lions 14–7 All Blacks)

25 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Timoci Tavatavanawai produces a trademark powerful run before the ball is shifted wide to Emoni Narawa, who runs in untouched. Barrett’s conversion misses. (Lions 14–12 All Blacks)

32 mins – TRY LIONS: Nico Steyn draws defenders and sends Kelly Mpeku over in the corner. Smith converts his third. (Lions 21–12 All Blacks)

36 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Ethan Blackadder rounds off a well-worked team try. Barrett’s conversion misses. (Lions 21–17 All Blacks)

38 mins – TRY DISALLOWED: Fehi Fineanganofo appears to have scored but referee Angus Gardner spots a forward pass in the build-up.

Half-time: Lions 21–17 All Blacks. The Lions scored three tries to stun the tourists and take a four-point lead at the break. Steyn and Mahashe were outstanding, the home scrum was solid, and Blackadder’s loop pass gift-wrapped the Lions’ second try. The All Blacks fought back through Hotham, Narawa and Blackadder, but were error-prone and lacked the clinical edge of their earlier tour performances.

42 mins – TRY LIONS: Siba Mahashe keeps his feet inside the line despite Ioane’s tackle. Erich Cronje kicks through and collects for the Lions’ fourth try. Smith converts. (Lions 28–17 All Blacks)

50 mins – TRY LIONS: Captain Francke Horn powers over from a pushover scrum after sustained forward pressure. Smith converts his fifth from five. (Lions 35–17 All Blacks)

52 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Rieko Ioane steps big off his left foot and sprints 40m through the Lions’ defence to score. Mo’unga converts. (Lions 35–24 All Blacks)

56 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Rieko Ioane intercepts and races away for his second. Mo’unga converts. (Lions 35–31 All Blacks)

62 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Ethan Blackadder initiates a 50m exchange of passes with Ioane and Tavatavanawai before finishing the move himself. Unconverted. (Lions 35–36 All Blacks)

63 mins – All Blacks lead for the first time in the match.

76 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Emoni Narawa dives over in the corner after the All Blacks win a powerful scrum and go wide. Mo’unga’s conversion misses, but the tourists have done enough. (Lions 35–41 All Blacks)

Full-time: Lions 35–41 All Blacks


For 50 minutes in Johannesburg, the Lions threatened to rip up the script of this entire tour. Their spirited, fearless display — enriched by the return of Springbok duo Boan Venter and Quan Horn — saw them race to a 35-17 lead before half-time and deep into the second half, and it was not until a 24-point blitz in the final half-hour that the All Blacks finally pulled clear. It was far too loose at times from the tourists, but the comeback that followed was as stirring as anything produced on this tour.

The Lions came out swinging from the kick-off, and within seven minutes the All Blacks found themselves staring down the barrel of an embarrassing upset. Halfback Nico Steyn, a product of King Edward VII School just a short drive from Ellis Park, dummied from the base of a ruck in the fifth minute and sliced through to score under the posts. Chris Smith converted. Then came the moment that would haunt Blackadder — standing at the base of the front ball at a lineout, he threw a looping pass that had all the impetus of an autumn leaf; barnstorming blindside flanker Siba Mahashe collected it and sprinted away to score from 28 metres. Smith converted again and the Lions led 14-0.

From that early error, Blackadder channelled his frustration into an extraordinary 80-minute performance. He finished with 16 carries — more than anyone on the park — two tries, multiple turnovers and an engine that simply would not quit. “The Lions came out hissing,” Blackadder said afterwards. “But we stayed composed and found a way in the end. They were quality tonight.”

Rennie was effusive in his praise. “He was all over the park,” the head coach said. “He got his hands on a lot of ball post tackle. He carried a lot for us and made a lot of tackles. Support play. He’s got a big engine, Ethan, he’s all arms and legs and had a massive impact on the game tonight.”

The All Blacks’ response to the early deficit came in the 17th minute through a moment of individual brilliance from Emoni Narawa. The Chiefs winger scooped the ball from a ruck, beat three defenders and sent Noah Hotham — who otherwise endured a forgettable evening after the intercept error — over for the tourists’ first score. Barrett converted. Narawa was at it again in the 25th minute, running in untouched after Timoci Tavatavanawai had done the hard work with one of his trademark steamrolling carries. Barrett’s conversion missed, leaving the All Blacks trailing 14-12.

The Lions restored their advantage through Steyn’s second assist, the halfback drawing defenders before sending winger Kelly Mpeku over in the corner. Smith kicked his third conversion. The schoolkids from King Edward in their blazers and those from Jeppe and other local schools roared their approval — this was exactly what midweek tour matches were designed to produce.

Blackadder’s first try, a well-worked team effort in the 36th minute, narrowed the deficit to four before Fehi Fineanganofo appeared to have scored on the stroke of half-time, only for referee Angus Gardner to rule out the try for a forward pass in the build-up. The Lions took a 21-17 lead into the break, having scored the most points against the All Blacks on tour.

Rennie’s halftime message was to throw the first punch in the second half. But the Lions did, again. Forty-two seconds after the restart, Mahashe kept his feet inside the touchline despite Ioane’s desperate tackle, and winger Erich Cronje kicked through and collected for the fourth try. Smith converted and the Lions led 28-17. Then came the pushover: captain Francke Horn powered over from a scrum that had the All Blacks creaking, and Smith’s fifth conversion from five attempts made it 35-17. The tourists were on the ropes.

The tide turned after the replacement front row of Xavier Numia, Bradley Slater and debutant Saula Ma’u entered the contest. The scrum stabilised, then began to dominate, and the Lions’ preseason conditioning visibly fell away. Ioane struck first in the 52nd minute, stepping big off his left foot in the midfield before sprinting 40 metres through exhausted defenders to score under the posts. Mo’unga converted, and the deficit was back to 11.

Four minutes later, Ioane struck again. The 88-cap back intercepted a loose Lions pass — the same medicine the hosts had administered to the tourists in the first half — and raced away untouched. Mo’unga’s conversion made it 35-31 and the momentum had swung irrevocably. “It was grit and guts,” Ioane said. “Wherever my role is for the team, that’s what I’m doing, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”

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Ioane, who played against the Lions twice for Leinster during his stint in Ireland earlier this year, was well aware of the threat they posed. “This is my third time playing this Lions team, and I sort of knew coming into this game that they were probably the least affected in terms of international selection,” he said. “So they’re a tight-knit group, and every single game I played them this year, it’s been tight.”

The lead changed hands in the 62nd minute when Blackadder produced the try of the match. He initiated a 50-metre exchange of passes with Ioane and Tavatavanawai that swept the length of the park before finishing the move himself. The conversion missed but the All Blacks led 36-35 — the first time they had been in front all evening. “I haven’t scored two since club rugby back in 2016,” Blackadder grinned. “So yeah, pretty lucky.”

Narawa sealed the win in the 76th minute after two powerful scrums gave the All Blacks the platform to go wide, the winger diving over in the corner. Mo’unga’s conversion drifted wide but it mattered little. The All Blacks had won 41-35 and completed a five-from-five sweep of the franchise fixtures, scoring 29 tries and conceding 13 across those four matches.

The match also carried significant implications for the second Test. Rennie revealed that Anton Segner’s tour is over after the Blues flanker failed to recover from the acute inflammatory arthritis in his ankle that forced him out of the first Test matchday 23. The news is a blow to the touring squad but enhances Blackadder’s chances of involvement on Saturday, and on this evidence, the Crusaders flanker has made an unanswerable case.

Richie Mo’unga completed the full 80 minutes on his return to the All Blacks jersey, looking calm and composed without setting the world alight. His kicking from hand was generally sharp and he produced a trademark line break late in the match that the All Blacks could not capitalise on. Patrick Tuipulotu, likely to start at lock in place of the concussed Josh Lord on Saturday, was withdrawn at half-time as a precaution — Rennie wanting to ensure the veteran had 40 valuable minutes in his legs without risking him further ahead of the second Test in Cape Town.

Debutant prop Saula Ma’u came off the bench in the second half and made an immediate impact, providing the scrum stability that allowed the All Blacks to build their comeback platform. The Highlanders loosehead described the moment as “unreal.”

The All Blacks now head to Cape Town for the second Test against the Springboks at DHL Stadium on Saturday, leading the series 1-0. Rassie Erasmus has made wholesale changes after the first Test defeat, with Siya Kolisi cleared to return from a hamstring injury to captain the side. Three Tests remain, and while this franchise clean sweep has been impressive, the tourists know the Springboks will bring a ferocity in Cape Town that even the Lions at their most inspired could not match.

Teams

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Boan Venter, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.

All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 11 Emoni Narawa, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Siale Lauaki.
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Saula Ma’u, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.

Match details

Lions 35 (Tries: Steyn, Mahashe, Mpeku, Cronje, Horn; Conversions: Smith 5/5)
All Blacks 41 (Tries: Hotham, Narawa 2, Blackadder 2, Ioane 2; Conversions: Barrett 1/3, Mo’unga 2/4)
Half-time: 21–17 (Lions)

Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Player of the match: Rieko Ioane (All Blacks)

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Springboks seal RGR series with Baltimore blitz over All Blacks

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Springboks seal RGR series with Baltimore blitz over All Blacks
South Africa with the trophy during All Blacks v South Africa, Rugbys Greatest Rivalry Tour, Baltimore, USA, 13 September 2026. (Photo by Jack Megaw / action press)

The Springboks clinched Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1, overwhelming the All Blacks 43-28 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in the first meeting between the two rivals on American soil. Six tries to four in front of a record US rugby crowd sealed the most emphatic and expansive victory of the series, confirming the world champions’ supremacy at the end of a tour that captivated the sport.

Key moments

3 mins – PENALTY SOUTH AFRICA: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicks an early penalty after the All Blacks are penalised at the breakdown. (South Africa 3–0 All Blacks)

9 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Codie Taylor scores after Cam Roigard throws a long pass across the goal-line from a ruck. Taylor’s 24th Test try — an All Blacks hooker record, passing Dane Coles. McKenzie converts. (South Africa 3–7 All Blacks)

14 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Damian de Allende powers over from close range after a 10-phase surge into the All Blacks’ 22. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts. (South Africa 10–7 All Blacks)

~18 mins – TMO COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN. Play is suspended for approximately 10 minutes after the referee loses communication with the Television Match Official. Both captains agree to continue without TMO involvement unless foul play occurs.

22 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Morne van den Berg sells a dummy and darts over from close range. The scrumhalf converts his own try. (South Africa 17–7 All Blacks)

~38 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Will Jordan enters the line from the right wing and races in beside the posts, capping a remarkable 32-phase sequence that sapped the Springbok defence. The move began from a front-of-the-lineout play after South Africa conceded a scrum penalty. McKenzie converts. (South Africa 17–14 All Blacks)

Half-time: South Africa 17–14 All Blacks. The Springboks led through de Allende and van den Berg after a dominant first quarter, but the All Blacks fought back through Taylor’s record try and Jordan’s score from a magnificent 32-phase build-up. A 10-minute TMO breakdown embarrassed the showcase event. The Springboks’ scrum and breakdown superiority was again evident.

48 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Malcolm Marx scores from a rolling lineout maul after the Springboks win a scrum penalty and kick to the corner. Manie Libbok converts. (South Africa 24–14 All Blacks)

51 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Pieter-Steph du Toit barges over after Feinberg-Mngomezulu breaks into the All Blacks’ 22 from a scrum and the Springbok forwards batter through. Libbok converts. (South Africa 31–14 All Blacks)

~55 mins – Roigard tackled without the ball. The halfback is taken out after kicking through to the Springbok line. TMO reviews but finds Roigard was offside at the preceding ruck. Penalty reversed. Frustration mounts for the All Blacks.

~63 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Ethan Blackadder scores his first Test try after a lineout drive and Roigard’s charge around a ruck creates the opening. McKenzie converts. (South Africa 31–21 All Blacks)

71 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Kurt-Lee Arendse swoops on a loose ball after a Moorby tackle incident and races more than 50 metres to score. A devastating counterattack. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts. (South Africa 38–21 All Blacks)

75 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Cameron Hanekom powers over after taking the ball from Jordan, who had scrambled back in cover. The replacement flanker seals the series. Unconverted. (South Africa 43–21 All Blacks)

80 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Beauden Barrett crosses for a consolation score in the final minute. McKenzie converts. (South Africa 43–28 All Blacks)

Full-time: South Africa 43–28 All Blacks. Series: South Africa 3–1.


This wasn’t the suffocating, grinding Springbok rugby that had characterised the second and third Tests. This was champagne stuff — expansive, electric and utterly ruthless. South Africa mixed power with panache, combining their traditional forward dominance with a willingness to give the ball air that had the All Blacks’ defence scrambling and the Baltimore crowd roaring its approval. When Siya Kolisi hoisted the Greatest Rivalry trophy aloft after it was presented by Dan Carter and Schalk Burger, few could argue it had gone to the wrong side.

The All Blacks, true to their free-flowing blueprint, moved the ball with typical slickness and crossed four times themselves, but on this intoxicating Baltimore evening they had no answer to a rampant Springbok side firing on all cylinders. The Springboks made 11 line breaks and played with the freedom of a team given licence to cut loose by a coach who knew his side could not lose the series. Rassie Erasmus had done it again.

“I thought it was epic,” Erasmus said. “The whole series so far has been epic, and they can draw it in Baltimore. But we wanted to finish it properly.”

The All Blacks’ penalty problems surfaced immediately. Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked a third-minute penalty, and from there the Springboks established the tempo that would define the match. But the tourists struck back in the ninth minute when Cam Roigard, sharp and direct throughout his 80 minutes, threw a long pass across the goal-line from a ruck for captain Codie Taylor to score. In doing so, Taylor claimed his 24th Test try — the most by any All Blacks hooker, overtaking Dane Coles’s long-standing record. McKenzie converted.

The lead was short-lived. The Springboks launched a 10-phase surge into the All Blacks’ 22 and, from a ruck close to the line, Damian de Allende powered over for his fourth try of the series. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted for 10-7. Then came an extraordinary interruption: the referee lost communication with the Television Match Official, suspending play for approximately ten minutes. Both captains agreed to continue without TMO involvement unless foul play occurred — an embarrassing episode for a match being showcased to a new American audience.

When play resumed, the Springboks pressed their advantage. Josh Moorby was controversially penalised for an offence while attempting to place the ball in a tackle, gifting the hosts field position. From the resulting lineout, man-of-the-match Morne van den Berg cut back against the grain and darted over to score. The scrumhalf then converted his own try — the second time in the series he had done so — for 17-7.

The All Blacks’ response was their finest passage of play in the match. After South Africa conceded a scrum penalty, Taylor found his jumper at the front of the lineout and set in motion a 32-phase movement that sapped the Springboks’ defence. Surge after surge was absorbed before the ball was moved to the backs, and Jordan — entering the line from his right wing — raced in beside the posts. McKenzie converted, and the tourists went to the break trailing by just three at 17-14.

Whatever hope that stirred evaporated within six minutes of the restart. The Springboks scored two tries in three minutes to blow the match apart. First, a scrum penalty gave them the chance to kick to the corner, and from the lineout their maul — that terrifying, irresistible weapon — drove the All Blacks backwards before Marx peeled off to score. Libbok converted for 24-14. From the restart, the Springboks won a scrum and Feinberg-Mngomezulu broke into the All Blacks’ 22 before du Toit drove over from close range. Libbok converted again and at 31-14, the series was over as a contest.

“We were confident that if we got a few things right tonight we’d have a good chance of winning,” Rennie said. “We fell short. It’s disappointing from that perspective.”

The All Blacks’ frustrations multiplied. Roigard kicked through to the Springbok line only to be taken out without the ball — a penalty seemed certain, but the TMO discovered Roigard was offside at the preceding ruck and the decision was reversed. Moorby was then denied a favourable ruling after taking a tackle that wasn’t ruled early. Richie Mo’unga, starting his first Test since the 2023 World Cup final, kicked for the corner and from the lineout Blackadder — busy, abrasive and tireless throughout — scored his first Test try. McKenzie converted for 31-21 and briefly the All Blacks sensed a comeback.

Arendse killed it stone dead. In the 71st minute, the ball bounced loose after the controversial Moorby tackle incident and the Springbok flyer swooped on it, accelerating from inside his own half on a devastating 50-metre run to score under the posts. It was the try of the match and the moment that sealed the series in emphatic fashion. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted. Replacement flanker Cameron Hanekom added a sixth four minutes later, powering over after taking the ball from Jordan, who had scrambled back in cover.

Beauden Barrett, the 144-cap veteran who had been introduced from the bench, crossed for a consolation in the final minute that McKenzie converted, but the 43-28 scoreline — the largest winning margin of the series — told the story of South African dominance. The try count across four Tests finished 20-18 in the All Blacks’ favour, yet the Springboks won the series 3-1 — a testament to their ability to win the decisive moments through set-piece power, breakdown dominance and the relentless physicality of their bench rotation.

Rennie was honest in defeat. “Yeah, look, the boys put in a massive shift again,” he said. “You look at all the numbers, and everything’s very even, but they were electric, and when they got their opportunities, and we were trying to chase the game late, we put ourselves under a bit more pressure.” On the breakdown discipline that conceded crucial penalties, he was blunt: “Yeah, it’s not good enough. It just does not affect the game either. But it’s dumb.”

The head coach maintained perspective on a tour that had tested his squad to its limits. “We’ve had a captured audience of what turned out to be 49 players,” Rennie said. “I thought the set piece was excellent tonight — scrum and lineout were a real positive. When we get our continuity going, we’re going to score tries. We’re tracking in the right direction, but we’ve got to close the gap and we know that.”

Mo’unga, playing his first Test in three years, labelled the 2026 Springboks a “complete team” and acknowledged the gulf the All Blacks need to bridge before the likely World Cup quarter-final meeting next year. Jordie Barrett was again outstanding at inside centre — arguably the All Blacks’ most consistently excellent player across the entire tour — while Blackadder, Jordan and Peter Lakai all enhanced their reputations in a losing cause.

Taylor, captaining for the final time on tour, hoped the Baltimore crowd took something from the occasion. “I hope American fans left understanding how exciting rugby can be,” the hooker said. Rennie echoed the sentiment: “They obviously love their sports, and they got right behind rugby. I would have liked to see a few more black jerseys, but obviously there’s a lot of South Africans over here.”

The Greatest Rivalry Tour is over. Across eight matches and seven weeks, the All Blacks used 49 players, scored 49 tries, won five of eight fixtures and lost the Test series 3-1 after winning the opener. They return to New Zealand battered, bruised and wiser — with a Bledisloe Cup and a European tour still ahead before the World Cup. The Springboks, meanwhile, have now won everything there is to win. They head to Australia in 2027 as the team to beat, their greatness no longer debatable. As Erasmus said in Cape Town: they are the benchmark. And as Baltimore showed, the gap between benchmark and challenger remains stubbornly difficult to close.

Teams

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Andre Esterhuizen, 23 Manie Libbok.

All Blacks: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor (c), 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Beauden Barrett.

Match details

South Africa 43 (Tries: de Allende, van den Berg, Marx, du Toit, Arendse, Hanekom; Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2/3, van den Berg 1/1, Libbok 2/2; Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 1/1)
All Blacks 28 (Tries: Taylor, Jordan, Blackadder, Barrett; Conversions: McKenzie 4/4)
Half-time: 17–14 (South Africa)

Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Attendance: Record US rugby crowd
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Man of the match: Morne van den Berg (South Africa)
Series result: South Africa 3–1

Greatest Rivalry series result

First Test, Ellis Park, Johannesburg: South Africa 16–33 All Blacks
Second Test, DHL Stadium, Cape Town: South Africa 33–26 All Blacks
Third Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg: South Africa 29–24 All Blacks
Fourth Test, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore: South Africa 43–28 All Blacks
Series: South Africa 3–1

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Mo’unga gets the call in revamped All Blacks for Baltimore finale

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Mo’unga gets the call in revamped All Blacks for Baltimore finale
All Blacks Richie Mo'unga during the All Blacks v Lions match, Rugbys Greatest Rivalry, Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, 25 August 2026. (Photo by Anton Geyser / action press)

Dave Rennie has made sweeping changes for the fourth and final Test against the Springboks at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, with Richie Mo’unga handed his first Test start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final and Ethan Blackadder earning his first in more than two years. Codie Taylor captains a revamped side that must win to prevent the Springboks claiming the Greatest Rivalry series outright.

Key squad news:

  • Richie Mo’unga earns his first Test start since the 2023 World Cup final; Ruben Love dropped from the 23
  • Codie Taylor captains the All Blacks in the absence of the injured Ardie Savea
  • Ethan Blackadder makes his first Test start in more than two years at openside flanker
  • Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord return after clearing concussion protocols from the first Test
  • Five changes to the starting XV; Newell, Tuipulotu, Lienert-Brown also start
  • Fabian Holland unavailable due to illness
  • All Blacks must win to draw the series 2-2

The changes are driven by necessity and opportunity. Ardie Savea (dislocated shoulder), Luke Jacobson (elbow tendon) and Quinn Tupaea (MCL) were all injured in the third Test defeat in Soweto, while Fabian Holland has been ruled out through illness. Their absence, combined with the return of Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord — who have cleared World Rugby’s concussion protocols after the sickening first Test collision — has prompted a significant reshuffle.

Mo’unga’s selection at first five-eighth is the headline talking point. The 56-cap playmaker replaces Ruben Love, who drops out of the matchday 23 entirely after starting all three Tests in the series. It is Mo’unga’s first Test start since the one-point World Cup final defeat to these same Springboks in Paris three years ago, completing a remarkable journey from three seasons in Japanese club rugby back to the international arena.

“Richie has been patient and professional since arriving on tour,” Rennie said. “He’s earned this opportunity. His vision, his decision-making and his ability to run a game at the highest level are exactly what we need in a match of this magnitude.”

Blackadder’s inclusion at openside is a reward for his extraordinary tour. The Crusaders flanker’s two-try, 16-carry display against the Lions was the standout individual performance of the franchise matches, and he has been unlucky not to feature in a Test matchday squad until now. He forms a new-look loose forward trio with Tupou Vaa’i, who shifts from lock to blindside, and Peter Lakai at number eight.

The front row sees de Groot return at loosehead alongside Taylor and Fletcher Newell, who replaces Tyrel Lomax at tighthead for his first Test start of the series. Lomax provides impact from the bench. Patrick Tuipulotu partners Sam Darry — the only forward to start in the same position as the third Test — in a second-row combination that offers a different profile from the Holland-Vaa’i and Holland-Darry pairings used earlier in the series. Lord’s return from concussion protocols means he can provide lock cover from the reserves.

In the backs, Anton Lienert-Brown replaces the injured Tupaea at outside centre alongside Jordie Barrett, while Josh Moorby comes onto the left wing. Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie are retained, with Rieko Ioane and Leroy Carter providing outside back cover on the bench.

Taylor, who captained the All Blacks for the first time against the Bulls earlier on tour, takes the armband for the biggest match of his 111-cap career. “It’s a huge honour to captain the All Blacks in a Test match of this magnitude,” Taylor said. “We’re desperate to get a result. The boys are hurting after last week and we know what’s at stake.”

Barrett dismissed any suggestion the All Blacks might be mentally or physically spent after seven weeks on tour. “We’ve still got a lot to play for,” Barrett said. “We came here to win a series and while that’s no longer possible, sharing it is the next best thing. We owe it to ourselves and everyone back home to finish this tour the right way.”

The match marks the first time the All Blacks and Springboks have met on American soil. M&T Bank Stadium, the 70,257-capacity home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, will host the sixth All Blacks Test played in the United States, following matches in Chicago, Washington DC and San Diego. Baltimore is a candidate city for the 2031 Rugby World Cup.

The series stands at 2-1 in the Springboks’ favour. A New Zealand victory would see each nation retain one half of the Greatest Rivalry trophy in a drawn series. Defeat would confirm the first series loss for an All Blacks touring side in South Africa since 1976 and hand the Springboks both halves of the silverware.

“This is why you play rugby,” Rennie said. “A deciding Test match against the best team in the world in front of 70,000 people. We know the Boks will be desperate to finish it here, but so are we. We’ve shown throughout this tour that we can beat anyone when we’re at our best. Now we need to deliver the performance of the tour.”

All Blacks team for the fourth Test

M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore. Saturday 12 September, kick-off 5pm local time (Sunday 13 September, 9am NZT).

1. Ethan de Groot (44 caps), 2. Codie Taylor (c) (111), 3. Fletcher Newell (39), 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (58), 5. Sam Darry (11), 6. Tupou Vaa’i (50), 7. Ethan Blackadder (15), 8. Peter Lakai (13), 9. Cam Roigard (23), 10. Richie Mo’unga (56), 11. Josh Moorby (4), 12. Jordie Barrett (84), 13. Anton Lienert-Brown (92), 14. Will Jordan (60), 15. Damian McKenzie (80).

Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua (25), 17. Xavier Numia (4), 18. Tyrel Lomax (54), 19. Josh Lord (16), 20. Wallace Sititi (22), 21. Kyle Preston (4), 22. Rieko Ioane (89), 23. Leroy Carter (10).

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Springboks make two changes for Baltimore Test against All Blacks

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Springboks make two changes for Baltimore Test against All Blacks
South Africa Damian Willemse is tackled by All Blacks George Bower during the All Blacks v South Africa second test match, Rugbys Greatest Rivalry, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, 29 August 2026. (Photo by Nic Bothma / action press)

Rassie Erasmus has made just two changes to the Springbok starting XV for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series decider against the All Blacks at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, sending the clearest possible signal that he intends to go for the kill and clinch a 3-1 series victory on American soil.

Key team news:

  • Damian Willemse returns at fullback in place of the injured Cheslin Kolbe, who broke his jaw in the third Test and has remained in South Africa
  • Morne van den Berg earns his first start of the series at scrum-half, with Cobus Reinach dropping to the bench
  • The forward pack is unchanged for the third consecutive Test
  • A Springbok victory would seal a 3-1 series win; an All Blacks victory would draw the series
  • Eben Etzebeth extends his record as the most capped Springbok to 146 Tests
  • The loose trio of Kolisi, du Toit and Wiese will start together for a record 19th time
  • It is the first Springbok Test in history to be played in Baltimore
  • Kick-off is at 23:00 SA time (17:00 EDT)

The decision to retain the same matchday squad with only injury-enforced and form-based adjustments is a statement of intent from Erasmus. Having won the second and third Tests to take a 2-1 lead, the Springbok coach is backing the combinations that turned the series around rather than rotating for the finale.

“We feel that the team is well settled and all the players delivered in their respective roles in the last two matches, so we believe selecting the same matchday squad, and naming Damian back in his regular position, makes sense for the closing match of the series,” Erasmus said. “These players also know exactly what to expect from a very determined All Blacks team, who will give everything to draw the series this weekend.”

Willemse’s return is straightforward. The fullback started the first two Tests before a hamstring injury ruled him out in Cape Town, with Kolbe deputising superbly at 15 across the second and third matches. Kolbe’s broken jaw, sustained at FNB Stadium, has ended his series and he was among six players who remained in South Africa as the squad flew to the United States.

“Damian started the first two Tests and had it not been for a niggle last week, he would have also started that match, so it’s good to have him back,” Erasmus said. “He is a quality player, and he knows the guys around him very well, so it will simply be a matter of him picking up where he left off before last week.”

The more intriguing selection is van den Berg’s promotion ahead of Reinach. The Lions scrum-half made a telling impact off the bench in the third Test and Erasmus was effusive in his praise. “Morne made a fantastic impact when he took the field last week, and he deserves a chance to start, so Cobus switches to the bench where he will add experience and skill in this vital match,” the Springbok coach said.

He expanded on van den Berg’s journey to this point. “He’s not a youngster. I think he’s 27 or something like that already, so he’s not a youngster to break through. But we’ve always tracked him, and I think he’s just been unfortunate with injuries and also some really good nines that played ahead of him or got opportunities ahead of him,” Erasmus said. “After his last injury, we thought it was going to be a tough year for him to get back into the mix, but he really did his rehab really well, and he’s back to full fitness. I think last week when he got his opportunity, he really did well, and we think he deserves a start.”

The forward pack is unchanged for the third week running. Nche, Marx and Louw continue in the front row, Etzebeth and Nortje in the second row, and captain Kolisi, du Toit and Wiese in a loose trio that will extend its own record to 19 Test starts together. Etzebeth stretches his all-time caps mark to 146, while Wiese needs just one more appearance after this match to reach 50 caps.

In the backline, Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at fly-half for a fifth consecutive Test, with Arendse and Hooker on the wings and de Allende and Kriel continuing their settled midfield partnership. The bench is also unchanged from the third Test — Fourie, Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, de Jager, Esterhuizen and Hanekom as the six forward replacements, with Reinach and Libbok the two specialist backs.

Erasmus confirmed that Handre Pollard, who has missed the last three Tests with a calf injury, is fit again and will likely feature against Australia in Perth on 27 September — the one-off Test the squad will travel to directly from Baltimore. Franco Mostert is also expected to return for that fixture.

Saturday’s match will be the first Springbok Test in Baltimore and only the fourth in the United States. South Africa have played three previous Tests on American soil — victories over the USA in 1981 and 2001, and a narrow 22-20 defeat to Wales in Washington DC in 2018, which was Erasmus’s first match in charge as head coach. The 2031 Rugby World Cup will be hosted in the USA, lending additional significance to high-profile fixtures on American soil.

Erasmus was blunt about the stakes. “If we don’t win, then we have achieved nothing,” he said.

He expected the All Blacks, who have lost Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson and Quinn Tupaea to series-ending injuries from the third Test, to come out swinging regardless. “We have faced the All Blacks three weeks in a row, and just like us, they are a proud team who showed last week that they will never stop fighting until the final whistle, so we are under no illusions about the magnitude of the challenge ahead this weekend,” Erasmus said.

“That said, we are equally determined to finish the series strongly and give everything to lift the trophy, and the players are excited about the match. We have no doubt that it’s going to be another epic encounter that will require a full-blown 80-minute effort on attack and defence.”

Springboks:
15. Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers, 54 caps)
14. Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars, 34 caps)
13. Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles, 93 caps)
12. Damian de Allende (Wild Knights, 102 caps)
11. Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks, 12 caps)
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers, 23 caps)
9. Morne van den Berg (Lions, 9 caps)
8. Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks, 48 caps)
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz, 101 caps)
6. Siya Kolisi (c) (DHL Stormers, 106 caps)
5. Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears, 23 caps)
4. Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks, 145 caps)
3. Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers, 34 caps)
2. Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears, 92 caps)
1. Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks, 51 caps)

Replacements:
16. Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers, 15 caps)
17. Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls, 22 caps)
18. Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks, 36 caps)
19. Lood de Jager (Wild Knights, 76 caps)
20. Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks, 34 caps)
21. Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls, 5 caps)
22. Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers, 56 caps)
23. Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners, 33 caps)

Match details: South Africa v New Zealand, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore. Saturday 12 September (Saturday 13 September NZT), 17:00 EDT / 23:00 SA time. Live on SuperSport.

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