There’s no Rugby Championship this year — and the reason why has turned into one of the bigger storylines in the sport’s southern hemisphere calendar.
Making room for “the Greatest Rivalry”
SANZAAR made the call to shelve the annual four-nation tournament for 2026 to clear space for a old-style touring series between New Zealand and world champions South Africa, branded as the Greatest Rivalry. The All Blacks are working through a four-Test series against the Springboks, along with additional fixtures against South African franchises including the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions — the kind of full touring itinerary that hasn’t been part of the international calendar in years.
What South Africa are defending
The Springboks arrive as reigning world champions and the dominant side of the last several years, which makes this tour as much a measuring stick for New Zealand as it is a spectacle for supporters starved of a proper Test series between the two nations. Beating South Africa on South African soil, across four matches rather than one, is about as demanding a challenge as exists in the sport.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies look further afield
With the Rugby Championship on hold, Australia have built a busier-than-usual mid-year schedule of their own, including fixtures against Japan and a pair of away Tests against Argentina at the end of August and start of September. It’s all being framed as preparation for a bigger picture — a full Rugby Championship returns in 2027, in the same year Australia hosts the Rugby World Cup.
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