All Blacks return to Durban after a decade
If there were any doubts about just how significant Rugby's Greatest Rivalry presented by Castle Double Malt was going to be here in South Africa, they were washed away as the All Blacks and DHL Stormers ran onto DHL Stadium on Friday night. Washed away by 47,000 voices roaring in unison as the first tour match the All Blacks have played in the Republic for 30 years.
Touring like no other
It meant that the 23 players who took the field in the 38-21 win now have something that’s very rare in the modern game: a fixture that’s not a test match. So rare that Richie McCaw only played one in his entire career, but that wasn’t always the case.
The All Blacks of old would often play over 20 total matches on tours of South Africa or the UK and Europe, which resulted in most players having far more games than test matches. Indeed, the man McCaw is compared to the most, Sir Colin Meads, played 78 games and 55 tests.
”It's just something new and something we haven't experienced,” said Rieko Ioane.
“But it's so cool because we have such a big group and there's young guys in here that'll get their first opportunities. A lot of this team wouldn't have traveled to not only South Africa or the parts that we're going to, the Durbans, Pretorias. So it's gonna be awesome just to experience all that.”
Ioane played a key role in the DHL Stormers match, scoring to put the All Blacks in a lead they never surrendered.
It’s likely that Ioane and his team mates’ experience will be far friendlier than the one Meads got in a tour game in 1970.
All Blacks in Durban for the first time since 2017
The All Blacks played against Eastern Transvaal in which the legendary lock broke his arm at the bottom of a ruck, only for Meads to famously ignore all reasonable medical advice and get himself on the field for the third test.
While that test series was ultimately lost 3-1 to the Springboks, there was some small consolation in the All Blacks’ winning all 21 tour games. Not even the famous 1996 Incomparables can boast that record.
Meanwhile, this will be the first time the All Blacks have played in Durban since 2017. It’s a city they have mostly happy memories of, having won eight of the 11 times they’ve played there. That includes four tests, with the last one being a resounding 57-14 victory over the Springboks.
It was also the scene of the crucial first test win of the 1996 series, with Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson and Zinzan Brooke all scoring tries to set up a 23-19 win.
That’s not to say the Springboks haven’t created their own memorable moments at HollywoodBets Kings Park. 1998 saw a famous comeback win by the Boks, who overcame a 23-5 deficit with 15 minutes to play. Hooker James Dalton scored a highly contentious try as time expired to consign the All Blacks to a fourth consecutive loss that season, while the victory was part of a then-record equalling 17 test win streak for the Springboks.
Durban fun facts
Fans who have made the long journey over will be impressed by what they see inside the famously steep stands of HollywoodBets Kings Park, commonly known as ‘The Shark Tank’. Not content with simply having swimming pools behind the dead ball line, the southern end of the ground has been converted into a multilevel bar complex, with fans able to freely roam between couches, leaners and even a dancefloor.
HollywoodBets Kings Park has a capacity of 55,000 and sits just inland from Durban’s famous North Beach. Despite it being the middle of winter, the weather has been nice enough over the weekend to brave the powerful surf or simply stroll in a t-shirt along the wide and popular beachfront.
It’s often been thought the All Blacks are more comfortable at Durban’s sea level, before heading off to the high velt. While there isn’t quite the fanatical support for the All Blacks you find in the Cape region, the KwaZulu-Natal region does have a reasonable Kiwi rugby connection in the form of the only two New Zealand-born South African representatives.
Kevin Putt represented Otago and Waikato from 1984-90 before shifting offshore, eventually settling in Durban and playing 103 games in the famous black and white jersey of Natal. One of those was the inaugural Super 12 final against the Blues at Eden Park in 1996, by that time he had already been picked for the Springboks to back up the legendary Joost van der Westhuizen. Putt never played a test but appeared in 11 tour games for his adopted country.
Future Hurricanes and All Black assistant coach John Plumtree also resettled in Durban in 1988, eventually playing 80 games for Natal and getting selected for the Springbok Sevens side in 1994. After retiring, Plumtree has had several coaching stints with the Sharks, with the latest being only last year.
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