All Blacks receive warm Cape Town welcome ahead of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour

The All Blacks were given a vocal welcome by several hundred supporters at Cape Town Stadium on Friday as New Zealand officially began their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa.

The touring squad was greeted by the City of Cape Town and SA Rugby during an event attended by a number of dignitaries, including former Springbok prop Eddie Andrews, who is now the Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, and SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.

New Zealand and the Springboks are preparing for an extended series of fixtures that will feature four Test matches. Three of those Tests will take place in South Africa, while the other will be played in the United States.

The tour will also include four matches against local United Rugby Championship teams, adding to a demanding schedule for the All Blacks.

After the official welcome, All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and hooker Codie Taylor spoke to the crowd. Both thanked Cape Town for the reception and recognised the backing of the local “Cape Crusaders”.

Rennie and Taylor said that support would be invaluable during what is expected to be a challenging tour for New Zealand.

The crowd was later introduced to the members of the touring squad, with the players presented individually. The biggest cheers were reserved for Beauden Barrett, record try-scorer Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane.

The reception marked the opening stage of a tour centred on one of rugby’s most closely followed international rivalries. New Zealand and South Africa will meet in a series of matches involving both Test rugby and fixtures against United Rugby Championship opposition.

The Cape Town event provided supporters with an opportunity to see the All Blacks squad before the team’s competitive commitments begin. It also brought together representatives of the visiting side, SA Rugby and the city ahead of the matches to come.

The welcome was held at Cape Town Stadium, where supporters gathered to greet the players and coaching staff. The presence of Andrews and Alexander underlined the official nature of the occasion, while the vocal response from the crowd reflected the interest surrounding the All Blacks’ arrival.

New Zealand’s players responded by thanking those who had attended and acknowledging the role supporters could play throughout the tour. The reference to the “Cape Crusaders” highlighted the local backing that the visitors hope will remain a feature of their time in South Africa.

With the squad now formally welcomed, attention turns to the four-Test programme and the four meetings with United Rugby Championship teams. The tour will ultimately take New Zealand beyond South Africa, with one of the Tests scheduled to be played in the United States.

A gallery from Friday’s welcome captures the arrival of the All Blacks and the introduction of the touring squad to the Cape Town crowd.