All Blacks versus Boks at Eden Park is the game of the year

New Zealand Rugby is nothing if not pragmatic. After four straight defeats to the Springboks, there was only one venue that would host the first match of the miniseries between the All Blacks and Boks – Eden Park in Auckland.

The All Blacks have not lost there since 1994. They’ve gone 50 matches without defeat in that time. There have been two draws – the Boks in 1994 and the Lions in 2017.

To understand the magnitude of fortress Eden Park, consider that the Boks have won four World Cups since the All Blacks last lost at Eden Park. Australia have lost 20 Tests at Eden Park since 1995. It makes this clash monumental.

The current Boks under Rassie Erasmus, whose association with the team as either head coach or director of rugby extends back to 2018, have in that time won the Rugby Championship twice, a British & Irish Lions series, two World Cups, and have beaten the All Blacks by a record margin (35-7 in 2023). 

They’ve won Tests in New Zealand and set a record string of four consecutive wins over their fiercest rivals.

Eden Park represents the last major mountain for this generation of Boks to scale.

If they can become the first team in the professional era to win at the storied venue, which has been the canvas for so much All Black artistry and success, it would represent the Boks’ last significant milestone.

If they achieve the improbable on 6 September, they will have achieved everything there is to achieve as a group.

Of course, there is always another challenge. Should they win at Eden Park, it would be a step closer to defending the Rugby Championship title, something the Boks have never done. Another target to aim for.

And even if they lose at Eden Park, winning the following week in Wellington would keep their Rugby Championship hopes alive.

In terms of the bigger picture, the Boks have a lot to play for regardless of the Eden Park result.

But in isolation, victory at Eden Park would represent a consolidation of all the success this generation of Boks has achieved in the past seven years.

“We are under no illusions that both games are going to be massive, and every match against the All Blacks is epic, given the rivalry between the teams,” Erasmus said before the Boks departed on Tuesday, 26 August.

“We won our last four matches against them dating back to 2023, which marked only the second time in history that we defeated them four times in a row, and there is no doubt that will motivate both teams.”

The rugby event

At the start of 2025, the double-header between the All Blacks and Springboks in New Zealand was expected to be the event on the rugby calendar.

Yes, the British & Irish Lions toured Australia and as most predicted, won the three-match series 2-1. The Wallabies put up a great fight and unexpectedly took the Lions to the wire.

Yet, given the state of Australian rugby at the start of the year, anyone with even a passing interest in rugby knew that the All Blacks versus the Boks over two weekends in New Zealand this September represented the high point of the year.

Now that the moment has almost arrived, with a 36-man Bok squad leaving for New Zealand, the landscape has changed slightly.

The All Blacks lost 29-23 to Argentina in Buenos Aires last weekend – their first loss in Argentina. The Boks suffered a shock 38-22 defeat to the Wallabies at Ellis Park a week earlier.

Both sides are a little off their best as they prepare to face off at Eden Park and again in Wellington on 13 September.

But form is temporary. These are the two best rugby nations in the world, which even the rugby rankings confirm with the old foes at No 1 and No 2.

The All Blacks have spent 785 weeks at No 1 since the rankings were introduced in 2003. The Boks are a distant second with 285 weeks at the top – 1,030 weeks between them.

The other 117 weeks at No 1 have been shared by Ireland (74 weeks), England (40 weeks), Wales (two weeks) and France (one week).

Then there is the fact that the Boks and All Blacks have won seven of the 10 World Cups played, and that their winning percentages in Test rugby rank first and second.

The All Blacks have won 503 of their 656 Tests – 77%. The Boks have triumphed 356 times in 559 Tests – 64%. England have a 56% winning ratio, France are at 55%, Australia 49% and Ireland 48%.

When the two giants meet, though, it’s not about rankings and previous titles – it’s really about proving they’re the best in the sport.

Sporadic

Clashes between the great rivals at Eden Park are also sporadic, with the last meeting 12 years ago.

This will be only the 11th meeting at the venue over 104 years and 108 Tests, with the All Blacks winning seven of the previous 10 and the Boks two.

Both South African wins came before World War 2 – a 9-5 victory in 1921 and a 17-6 win in 1937.

By comparison, the teams have met 16 times at Ellis Park (not including one Cavaliers Test) and 15 times in Wellington at two different stadiums.

The last clash at Eden Park in 2013 still rankles Springbok supporters. It was the night of the infamous yellow card to Bismarck du Plessis for a legal tackle on brilliant flyhalf Dan Carter.

Du Plessis later earned a second yellow, which was at best a 50/50 call, and the Boks went on to lose 29-15, having come off a record 38-12 victory over the Wallabies in Brisbane.

World Rugby later rescinded Du Plessis’ first yellow card, but it was too late. The damage was done.

Eden Park is not for the faint-hearted. It might be situated in the middle-class Auckland neighbourhood of Mt Eden, but the crowd is feral, especially when something goes against their team.

Very little goes in favour of the visiting team with referees under immense pressure. And the longer the All Blacks’ unbeaten streak continues, the more the aura of the stadium being a place where opponents come to capitulate grows.

Only Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi of the current Bok touring group have experienced the atmosphere of playing a Test match against the All Blacks at Eden Park.

The Boks know what’s coming, and they know how tough it will be. Probably tougher than playing France at Stade France in the quarterfinal of RWC 2023.

It’s quite simply the greatest challenge in rugby. DM