All Blacks and Springboks took test to Baltimore after Irish weren’t consulted about original Dublin plan
Saturday, 24 January 2026
The All Blacks will play the Springboks in Baltimore next year.
The test will be the fourth of the “rugby’s greatest rivalry” tour.
Original plan was to play in Dublin but Irish hadn’t been consulted.
The All Blacks-Springboks test in Baltimore next year was shifted after New Zealand Rugby and SA Rugby’s first choice of Dublin faced pushback from the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), The Post understands.
It was announced on Friday morning that the fourth test of the All Blacks’ inaugural ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ tour to South Africa would be held in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday, September 13 (NZ time), following earlier internationals in Johannesburg (August 23), Cape Town (August 30) and Johannesburg on September 6 (NZT).
The test is being pitched as part of World Rugby’s plan to sell the sport to the United States ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2013, but The Post understands that the Irish did not sign off on NZ Rugby and SA Rugby’s original plan to hold it at either Aviva Stadium or Croke Park in Dublin after feeling they had not been consulted properly.
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A test in Dublin, while doubtless attractive to visiting All Blacks and Springboks fans, would have also encroached into the Irish market in an-already crowded rugby calendar.
Aviva Stadium is owned jointly owned by the IRFU and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), giving them ultimate say over the use of the venue.
Croke Park is owned by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), but it’s unlikely they would plough ahead with a fixture if it ran the risk of conflicting with the IRFU’s interests.
SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer hinted at the forced change in plans after the Baltimore test was announced.
“Speculation was rife on where we were going to go and there were discussions which took place with various stadiums, particularly in Ireland and we looked at London,” Oberholzer told The Telegraph.
“We had difficulties in finding a venue but we were talking and then we were approached by a promoter in America who asked if we would be interested in moving the game to America.
“It made some sense because as part of World Rugby we agreed on the rugby expansion into America and the request of World Rugby to take some of our fixtures and events into the American market.
“It made sense for New Zealand and South Africa to take this one specifically to America and to Baltimore specifically because they are keen to establish themselves as a potential host for the 2031 World Cup in America. That is why they put their hand up.”
World Rugby is desperate to bring tests to the United States in the buildup to the Rugby World Cup and the All Blacks-Springboks test will be a good test of the country’s appetite for rugby.
The test will be played at the 71,000 capacity M&T Bank Stadium.