Cape Town: the All Blacks' home away from home

All Blacks

2 hours agoBy: Jamie Wall

Find out about the All Blacks long history and loyal following in Cape Town, a city that has often felt like a second home.

Home away from home

The All Blacks have achieved a 1-0 series lead over the Springboks in the Greatest Rivalry Tour, and couldn’t have moved to a more iconic place to try and double their lead. The beautiful city of Cape Town has turned on its best weather for the arrival of both the visitors and the home side, although many inhabitants may have some contrasting views on exactly who is who.

The fact that the All Blacks are well supported in the city and indeed the entire Cape Region is well known. But how does it actually stack up in terms of an advantage?

Let’s break down the All Blacks’ history in Cape Town:

A poor start

The All Blacks came ashore in Cape Town way back in 1928, almost three centuries after the colony had been established at the foot of Table Mountain. By that stage it had long established itself as one of the most important ports in the world due to its proximity to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. While the visitors beat a Western Province Country selection in their opening warm up game, they were defeated by a Cape Town Clubs side in their second. The test series saw them return to Newlands and level the series 2-2 with a 13-5 victory over the Springboks.

WATCH: Get the lowdown from Ardie ahead of the second Test in Cape Town

Over the years

After another World War, the All Blacks returned to South Africa in 1949. The tour is not remembered fondly due to the 0-4 whitewash in the test series, which makes it the least successful All Black season ever when you add in two losses to the Wallabies in that year’s Bledisloe Cup series. However, the All Blacks did win their two midweek fixtures in Cape Town before dropping the test match.

Things got better in 1960, when the All Blacks played three times at Newlands and won all of them, including a comprehensive 14-3 win in the second test. 10 years later they repeated that feat, and by then the support for the All Blacks among the local population was starting to become evident. However in 1976 both matches against Western Province and the Springboks at Newlands were lost.

WATCH: Check out the All Blacks incredible welcome to Cape Town

Jonah’s city

It took another 19 years for the All Blacks to return to South Africa, due to the Springboks being isolated from test rugby. However it was worth the wait for New Zealanders, who got to see one of the most iconic performances in sporting history by Jonah Lomu. His four tries against England in the 1995 World Cup gave a highlight reel for the ages, helping propel an amateur sport into professionalism in the space of 80 memorable minutes.

The 45-29 win also sent the All Blacks into the final the next weekend, but while they didn’t come away with the cup, Lomu’s heroics in Cape Town certainly cemented the city’s standing as the team’s home away from home.

WATCH: Jonah Lomu's four-try performance against England in Cape Town at the 1995 Rugby World Cup

The modern era

By the turn of the century, it seemed that SA Rugby had caught on to the fact that the All Blacks had fashioned a very good record in Cape Town as well as enjoying the high level of support from the local population. Whatever their reasoning, tests at Newlands were sparse despite the All Blacks and Springboks playing at least once a year in South Africa in the Tri Nations and later Rugby Championship competitions.

They met only four more times at Newlands, for three All Black wins including a 12-3 result in 2001 that saw all the All Blacks’ points come from the boot of current Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown. The last time they met at the legendary venue was in 2017, in a test where the Springboks were desperate to regain pride after a 57-0 loss in Albany a month prior.

They almost rose to the challenge but ultimately fell short in a much-improved performance, losing 25-24 due in part to a crucial Rieko Ioane intercept.

With Newlands now out of action, the All Blacks and Springboks will meet again at the magnificent DHL Stadium on Cape Town’s waterfront. While the majority of fans will be decked out in green, there will still be healthy support for the All Blacks from the moment their team bus makes its way down from the team hotel.