By The Numbers: All Blacks Eye Series Lead In Johannesburg
The All Blacks head to FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday for the third instalment of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, presented by Castle Double Malt, with the four-Test series locked at 1-1 after two bruising encounters in South Africa. The All Blacks' ball-in-hand game will again meet the Springboks' physical, kick-heavy approach, and the numbers from both sides' 2026 international campaigns show just how contrasting the two styles remain.
Here's what the numbers tell us ahead of kick-off
Across their 2026 Test matches, the All Blacks have been the more prolific attacking side, averaging 36.0 points and 5.4 tries per match compared to the Springboks' 32.7 points and 4.3 tries. The All Blacks also carry the ball far more often (154.6 carries per match to South Africa's 113.7) and rack up almost 1,000 metres a game with ball in hand (994.8 to 732.8), built on an expansive passing game that averages 230 passes per match against South Africa's 112.
The Springboks, by contrast, lean heavily on the boot, kicking from hand 29.7 times a match compared to the All Blacks' 19.8, and have been the more accurate goal-kicking side (85.3% to 78.6%). Where South Africa have the edge at the set piece (a 93.9% lineout success rate against the All Blacks' 82.1%), the All Blacks have been the more clinical defensive unit, with a tackle success rate of 87.7% compared to the Springboks' 83.6%.
Discipline could again be a factor: the All Blacks have conceded slightly more penalties per match this year (9.2 to 7.8) but fewer yellow cards (0.4 to 0.8), with neither side sent to the bin with a red card in 2026.
The most recent meeting between the two sides, South Africa's 33-26 win in Cape Town on 29 August, followed the pattern of the season, with the All Blacks out-carrying the hosts 154 to 103 and beating almost twice as many defenders (40 to 25), but South Africa's kicking game and set-piece dominance (nine lineouts won to none lost) proved the difference.
WATCH: Ardie Savea's final words ahead of the crucial clash
Head-to-head: the record still favours the hosts
South Africa hold the historical edge at home. Of 112 meetings between the two sides, the Springboks have won 44 to the All Blacks' 64, with four draws, but 29 of South Africa's 44 wins have come on home soil from 56 Tests, a return the All Blacks will be wary of as they head back to South African turf for the third straight week.
The series so far has swung on the road team's form: the All Blacks won the series opener at Ellis Park 33-16 on 22 August, before South Africa hit back with a 33-26 win in Cape Town a week later. Going further back, four of the last five meetings between the sides have been decided by a converted try or less, underlining just how tight this rivalry has become at the top level.
WATCH: Go inside the All Blacks camp in South Africa with the latest episode of Behind the Fern
Players to watch
Will Jordan has been the All Blacks' most potent attacking weapon in 2026, scoring 8 tries in 5 Tests (third-most of any player across the international window) while his 10 try involvements account for 21.3% of the All Blacks' total tries this year. Alongside him, Ardie Savea continues to lead from the front as captain, carrying hard and topping the All Blacks' turnover count, while half-back Cam Roigard has run the attack, ranking fifth in the world for passes made (401) and adding four tries and 20 points of his own. Fullback Ruben Love has shouldered the goal-kicking, converting at 84.6% to sit third among the All Blacks' points scorers this year with 45.
For South Africa, wing Cheslin Kolbe has been the form points-scorer with 44 from just three matches, backed up by centre Jesse Kriel, the Springboks' leading try-scorer with four in five Tests and ever-present across all 400 minutes on offer. Captain Pieter-Steph du Toit has again been immense, while No.8 Jasper Wiese ranks among the most damaging carriers in world rugby on a per-80-minute basis. Hooker Malcolm Marx is a persistent threat at the lineout, so South Africa's set-piece and kicking game will again look to blunt the All Blacks' ambition in the tight arm-wrestle this rivalry has become.
With the series tied at 1-1 and a fourth and final Test still to come, Saturday's clash at FNB Stadium shapes as pivotal in deciding who takes control of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, presented by Castle Double Malt, heading into the finale.
Statistics sourced from Opta/Stats Perform's Pre-Match Report for South Africa v New Zealand, 5 September 2026. This article was written with the help of an AI tool.
