All Blacks v Springboks: Breaking down the key numbers from Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour
The series result may have read Springboks 3 All Blacks 1, but the Herald dives deeper to find the difference between the sides across Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry... and a possible change in philosophy about three-pointers.
At a glimpse, the statistics make it appear the All Blacks had the better of the Boks – they had fewer turnovers, missed tackles and scored more tries.
But it was penalties and set-pieces that were key across the four tests.
The All Blacks were 86% at lineout time with eight lost, while the Springboks were at 96% for the series. At restarts received, South Africa were a perfect 28 from 28 while the All Blacks were 16 from 20, according to RugbyPass.
This season, the All Blacks are averaging two lost lineouts a test, while their opponents are at 0.7 per test.
The scrum was the biggest issue for the All Blacks, where they conceded 14 penalties, one of which was a penalty try.
Overall discipline, including at scrum-time, let the All Blacks down. They conceded more penalties in three of the four tests, in the last test the penalty count was 9-9.
In seven tests in 2026, the opening game against France is the only match where Dave Rennie’s side conceded fewer penalties than the opposition. In previous seasons the All Blacks were penalised less.
The All Blacks missed 32 tackles in Baltimore, the highest number since 46 against the Springboks in Wellington last year.
Interestingly, they conceded 43 points in both tests.
One bright spot: The All Blacks only had one yellow card in the test series, though they had three in the opening tour game against the Stormers.
The All Blacks’ card count sits at three through seven tests in 2026 (Ruben Love picking up two of them). Last season, they had nine in 13 tests.
Tries time
The All Blacks are also scoring tries. They have 35 across seven tests this year, averaging five a test. It was four a test last season. They have conceded 23, with 10 coming in the last two tests.
There has also been a goal-kicking improvement, mainly down to Love – though Damian McKenzie’s four from four in Baltimore helped.
The All Blacks have converted 77% of their tries, up from 73% last year.
The biggest change for the Springboks from the first test to the fourth was the final quarter. They scored just three points in the final 20 minutes of tests one and two but scored 24 in the last two tests.
Last year, under Scott Robertson, the All Blacks had a significant point-difference change in the third quarter of -57.
Rennie’s All Blacks appear to be slower starters. Ireland are the only test opponents who didn’t score a try in the opening 20 minutes. The All Blacks have scored the first points just twice in seven tests this year.
Don’t kick your threes
The All Blacks have converted just one penalty in the 11 matches they have played this season, to go up by four points with 15 minutes remaining against France in the opening test of the Rennie era. Love missed an attempt in the third test against South Africa.
In the 13 matches they played last year, they landed 16 penalties. McKenzie kicked 26 alone in 2024, the first season under Razor.
Maybe this is a new trend. Australia, South Africa, England and Scotland all failed to kick a penalty in the Nations Championship matches in June and July, while Ireland converted one. France led the way with four.
Player stats
Carries
Jasper Wiese 56
Will Jordan 45
Damian de Allende 40
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 38
Jordie Barrett 36
Tupou Vaa’i 33
Cam Roigard 32
Damian McKenzie 29
Quinn Tupaea 28
Pieter-Steph du Toit 27
Tackles completed
Jordie Barrett 55
Pieter-Steph du Toit 47
Eben Etzebeth 46
Damian de Allende 44
Jasper Wiese 43
Ruan Nortje 42
Malcolm Marx 41
Peter Lakai 32
Jesse Kriel 29
Ox Nche 29
Wilco Louw 29
Ardie Savea 28
Penalties conceded
Tyrel Lomax 4
Ethan de Groot 4
Ox Nche 4
George Bower 4
Tupou Vaa’i 4
Eben Etzebeth 3
Codie Taylor 3
Cobus Reinach 3
One statistic that jumped out was turnovers lost: Will Jordan had 24 – well ahead of the field. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was next with 10.
Maybe this is a strong sign of how the All Blacks struggled under the high ball.
Forty-eight players made the field for the All Blacks in South Africa across the eight matches. Kyle Preston was the only player to feature across every match.
In terms of test starters, Rennie has gone with Roigard, Jordie Barrett, Jordan and McKenzie in every test so far in 2026. Five different locks have started (Josh Lord, Sam Darry, Tupou Vaa’i, Fabian Holland and Patrick Tuipulotu) and four in the No 6 jersey (Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi, Vaa’i and Simon Parker).
- Statistics via RugbyPass and greatest-rivalry.com