The All Blacks’ "Greatest Rivalry" tour of South Africa puts the annual southern hemisphere showdown on hold
The 2025 Rugby Championship is the tightest in years, with Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina all in with a chance of winning after four rounds of matches.
Despite the excitement, however, there will be no rematch in 2026. This is because the southern hemisphere’s biggest international tournament is taking a year off to make way for the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa, their first since 1996.
But why are South Africa and New Zealand doing their own thing next year? What does this mean for the future of the Rugby Championship? What will the Wallabies and the Pumas do in the meantime? And how does all this fit in with the inaugural Nations Championship? Read on to find out why there’ll be no Rugby Championship next season.
What’s happening to the Rugby Championship in 2026?
The annual contest between the SANZAAR nations is taking a break in 2026, but the southern hemisphere giants won’t be avoiding each other completely. In fact, there are some major new plans in the offing.
What are South Africa and New Zealand doing instead?
While it’s yet to be officially announced, New Zealand are set to embark in a full-on, British & Irish Lions-style tour of South Africa in 2026. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer revealed as much last year.
The All Blacks’ first tour of South Africa in three decades is being branded as the “Greatest Rivalry”, and is expected to consist of eight matches: games against the four United Rugby Championship (URC) clubs and South Africa A, and, of course, three Test clashes with the Springboks. There’s also likely to be a potentially lucrative fourth Test at a neutral venue, probably in London or North America.
The plan would then be for New Zealand to host the Springboks for a reciprocal tour in 2030.
Why are they doing this?
Despite the calibre of the four teams involved, the Rugby Championship lacks the history, prestige and audience (particularly the travelling fans) of the Six Nations.
At just 29 years old, the tournament is a comparative whippersnapper in international terms (Argentina joined Tri-Nations sides Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in 2012), while the vast distances between the nations introduces logistical challenges that aren’t an issue in Europe.
The disparate time zones are also far from ideal for TV broadcasters – a 7.05pm kick-off in New Zealand equates to 9.05am in South Africa, or the early hours of the morning in Argentina.
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – SEPTEMBER 13: Siya Kolisi of South Africa makes a break during The Rugby Championship match between New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks at Sky Stadium on September 13, 2025 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Read more: How to watch the 2025 Rugby Championship anywhere in the world
Indeed, you could make a compelling argument that coming out on top in the head-to-heads between the Springboks and the All Blacks – two sides who’ve shared the last five World Cups between them – is a bigger deal than winning the Championship itself.
The two unions will be looking to capitalise on that lofty status, with the addition of a third deciding Test match clearly an appealing prospect – especially in seasons like this one, when honours have been shared between the two sides.
And then, as is typically the case, financial considerations will have come into play. Both unions will have noted the money-making potential of the Lions’ adventures in the southern hemisphere, and will be hoping that the Greatest Rivalry tours can make a similar impact on their coffers.
What does this mean for Australia and Argentina?
Rodrigo Isgro of Argentina celebrates with supporters after the Lions 1888 Cup match . (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Aside from a few more empty weekends in the calendar?
While – and you’ll have noted this is a common theme – nothing has yet been officially confirmed, an ESPN report suggests that Australia are expecting to host seven Tests in 2026, including three against northern hemisphere teams – presumably in the inaugural Nations Championship (see below).
Two or three Bledisloe Cup matches against the All Blacks, and a Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate game against the Springboks, have also been mooted – though these would be one-offs, rather than counting towards a Rugby Championship.
Meanwhile, Argentine Rugby Union President Gabriel Travaglini told RugbyPass.com earlier this month that the Pumas will host two one-off Tests against the Wallabies, as well as a match against South Africa – though, at present, there are no plans to play the All Blacks.
How will the new plans fit in with the new Nations Championship starting in 2026?
World Rugby’s new biennial tournament will take place in even-numbered years between World Cups and Lions tours, starting next year.
The Six Nations sides (aka the European Conference) will play all six teams in the “Rest of the World” Conference (featuring the SANZAAR sides, and (probably) Fiji and Japan) – and vice versa – with the teams topping each conference meeting in a final at the end of the year.
Read more: All of the All Blacks’ upcoming fixtures in one place
Fixtures will be grouped into two blocks of three: the “Rest of the World” teams will host a trio of games in the July international window, with the European sides playing at home in November.
The 2026 Greatest Rivalry tour will presumably have to take place after the July Nations Championship matches have taken place, which – bearing in mind this summer’s nine-match Lions tour lasted five weeks – would have left little time to fit in a full Rugby Championship.
When will the Rugby Championship return?
This is also TBC, but the Rugby Championship is widely expected to return in 2027. The tournament was truncated ahead of the 2023 World Cup, with just one fixture played between each side, though Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has reportedly suggested that a full Rugby Championship might be possible in 2027, thanks to the World Cup kicking off later than usual.
It’s entirely possible, however, that we’ll have to wait until 2029 for the competition to return in its current form. It’s also fairly safe to assume it will be a biennial tournament from now on.
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