Intense rivalry which never loses its edge

SOUTH Africa and New Zealand are never far away from being the top one or two in the world rankings, but what makes their games against each other so unmissable is not just how closely matched they are, but the sheer strength and intensity of the rivalry.

- JEREMY GUSCOTT

This was glaringly obvious as the southern hemisphere’s biggest heavyweights faced each other at Ellis Park last weekend in the first Test of their Rugby Championship double-header, when South Africa’s late rally saw them squeeze home 31-27, despite being outscored four tries to three.

The rivalry between the Springboks and the All Blacks is remarkable given that they are such a long way from each other geographically, but it is probably driven by the way that rugby union has defined both nations and created a massive will to win.

Many of the most intense rivalries in sport are between nations who are near neighbours rather than those separated by thousands of miles of sea, and it’s why you would think that, with Australia much closer to New Zealand, the competition between them would be huge. However, it has dwindled in rugby union because the All Blacks have been the dominant force against the Wallabies for so many years that the Bledisloe Cup rivalry has almost become a oneway ticket.

The game in Johannesburg last Saturday could have gone either way, and it seems that very little changes in the ultra-competitiveness between South Africa and New Zealand.

They are the only countries to have won the World Cup more than twice – New Zealand three times, South Africa four – and yet in terms of their rugby ‘cultures’ they are worlds apart, with South Africa still relying on set-piece strength, and the physicality of a catch-and-drive to smash forward, whereas in this era New Zealand are always looking for space, and injecting pace to strike out wide.