SA's big four franchises will name some interesting teams to take on the All Blacks during Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.
Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier is one of the few star players expected to turn out for their franchise against the All Blacks during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. Picture: Kian Abdullah/Gallo Images
It is a great pity that South Africa’s next best players won’t all get a chance to take on the mighty All Blacks when they tour through South Africa next month.
But, for some, who probably wouldn’t have thought they’d ever get a chance to face the Springboks’ biggest rivals, a huge occasion awaits.
The timing of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series between the Springboks and All Blacks in August means the majority of South Africa’s top players, who turn out for the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers in the United Rugby Championship, are in their off season.
The URC only starts up again towards the end of September when the All Blacks’ tour will be over.
What it all means is that the majority of the URC players who aren’t part of the Springbok squad will miss out on a chance of playing against the All Blacks.
Season break
The fixtures against the Stormers (7 August), Sharks (11 August), Bulls (15 August) and Lions (25 August) come at a time when those franchise’s top players are still on a long post-URC 2025/26 season break.
So, the All Blacks will come up against weakened sides, with the majority of the top URC guys missing, which is most unfortunate.
There will of course be some recognisable URC players who’ll feature for their respective teams, possibly the fringe players and those who didn’t get a lot of game time last season. Those few who have been let go by the Boks will maybe also get a run.
It will also be interesting to see how many Currie Cup players those teams’ coaches pick because that competition is also well underway now and all the teams will have their eye on the playoffs by the time the matches come around.
But, the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers will put out the best teams they can. And for those players who are selected to take on the All Blacks, what a wonderful opportunity. It’s not every day that a South African provincial player gets such a chance.
For many this match will be a career highlight. And so it should be.
