50 years after they previously met the All Blacks as a Western Province team, the Stormers are far from likely to replicate the famous 12-11 win they earned over New Zealand at Newlands. But there will nonetheless be plenty of emerging United Rugby Championship players hopeful of not only drawing the attention of South African boss Rassie Erasmus but also dishing out a few bruises and wounds to an All Blacks touring party preparing for August 22’s opening match against the Springboks.
The mood at the Stormers High Performance Centre is understandably high. Their URC side made the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2022-23, losing to eventual champions Munster, whilst the newly branded Currie Cup team (‘Stormers XXIII’) have won two of their opening three matches of the 2026 season to already improve upon last season’s 1-6 record and last-place finish. The squads trained with one another during the week to move towards their respective goals, which includes a Currie Cup win over the Cheetahs on Sunday and bettering the 49-5 loss suffered the last time the Stormers took on a touring side (British & Irish Lions in 2021).
New Zealand have ditched the Rugby Championship for the immense commercial potential of a full tour of South Africa and it begins with tour matches against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls’ URC sides before the opening test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. In their first proper tour of the Rainbow Nation since 1996, when they won three of four tests (L1) and three of four tour matches (D1), the All Blacks have the chance not only to continue proving they’re beyond the malaise of the Ian Foster-Scott Robertson era after winning all three of their Nations Championship matches, but they can also reclaim the number one spot in World Rugby’s rankings with a series win.
Before then, it’s all about tuning their match fitness and their tactics, and new head coach Dave Rennie said he has already largely preselected his teams for the first three tour matches to create as competitive an atmosphere as possible inside the squad. Lock Patrick Tuipulotu will have the honours of captaining this series-opening team that also includes many former starters attempting to break their way back into the full strength run-on XV. That includes names such as 144-cap Beauden Barrett, wingers Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane, inside centre Anton Lienert-Brown and flanker Peter Lakai.
Head-to-Head History
This will be the first head-to-head. New Zealand have not played against a South African provincial side since the 1996 tour.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Five of the Stormers’ last seven games produced at least 55 total points.
Stormers were outscored in both halves in just one of their last six defeats.
Two-thirds of tries conceded by New Zealand since 2025 were after half-time.
New Zealand covered the spread in only five of their last 15 games.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Stormers number eight Evan Roos made the URC’s team of the season as the competition’s joint-leading try scorer, dotting down 12 times in 18 appearances. Josh Moorby will be pursuing his maiden international try in just his second try after a record-breaking 17 tries in the 2026 Super Rugby season.
Stormers are missing Jurie Matthee to injury as well as flyhalf Sacha Feinburg-Mngomezulu, who is away with the Springboks. Whilst most of New Zealand’s selections were tactical, they could not field acting tour captain Codie Taylor (injured) or Ardie Savea (yet to arrive).
Click here to see the matchday squads for both teams.
Betting Analysis
New Zealand have selected a very strong opening squad more than capable of covering a -32.5 point handicap against an out-of-season Stormers team.
The All Blacks are embarking upon their first full tour of South Africa since 1996! Marketed as the 'Greatest Rivalry' series, the winner will come out not only with the bragging rights but World Rugby's number one ranking. Keep up to date throughout August and September with news, previews and more.
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Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
