The All Blacks are scheduled for a stacked Summer of action, with the inaugural Nations Championship Southern Series followed by a blockbuster tour across South Africa.
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New Zealand embark upon a new era this Summer, with head coach Dave Rennie set to oversee the men in black for the first time, following the end of Scott Robertson’s time in charge. Rennie comes into the All Blacks set-up fresh from leading Kobelco Kobe Steelers to the Japan Rugby League One title, and quickly appointed a new All Blacks captain in none other than his former Kobe skipper Ardie Savea.
In this article, we are surveying the upcoming eight opponents that the All Blacks are going to face in the coming months, and ranking the sides from least threatening to the biggest challenge. New Zealand are set to host three Northern Hemisphere nations across Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland inn July, before travelling across to the land of the Springboks in August for the tour billed as ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’.
RANKED: ALL BLACKS’ 8 SUMMER OPPONENTS FOR 2026
8. SHARKS
August 11th, Kings Park Stadium – Durban
We kick off this eight-team list with the first of four club-level opponents, that the All Blacks will face in August. In a tour resembling that of a British & Irish Lions overseas venture, New Zealand are going to take on South Africa’s resident clubs from the United Rugby Championship, ahead of their four-match series against the Springboks. We believe that the Sharks will be the easiest of the incoming opponents, given their underwhelming recent form and expected shortage of Springbok internationals.
The Durban side are one of professional rugby’s great conundrums, given how they boast such a decorated ensemble of world class South African internationals, yet more often than not struggle to build consistent momentum in domestic form. With the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Andre Esterhuizen and Aphelele Fassi contracted down in Durban, you would expect to see the Sharks challenging for the URC title each and every season – however, JP Pietersen’s side only managed a 10th place finish this season, and very rarely break into the quarter-final stage.
This can often be appointed to how the Springbok stars endure months of unavailability away from their domestic clubs. Whilst the Bulls and Stormers have managed to navigate this issue with reinforced squad depth, the Sharks often find themselves in deep water when it comes to the international windows. Add into the mix the departure of Siya Kolisi, who heads home to the Stormers for the upcoming URC season, and we can see the All Blacks collecting a comfortable win over the Springbok-less Sharks mid-way through their tour.
7. LIONS
August 25th, Ellis Park – Johannesburg
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Lions of Johannesburg have been one of the awe-inspiring stories of the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship season. Under the guidance of head coach Ivan van Rooyen, the Lions made history in the latest campaign, by reaching the play-off quarter-finals for the first time. Since the four South African clubs joined the expanded PRO14 back in 2021 to form the URC, the Lions were the perceived ‘easy-win’ of the quartet, yet this narrative has certainly shifted this season.
With 10 wins across 18 rounds of the URC, the Lions climbed up to seventh in the table, before eventual champions Leinster ended their title hopes in a rather unceremonious quarter-final. However, what sets the Lions apart from the other South African clubs, is how their apparent lack of Springbok internationals actually plays to their favour. The Lions are not left clawing to fill voids for months on end, as van Rooyen has assembled a well-oiled machine, with the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
The Lions have only managed to contribute one player to the stacked 46-man Springboks squad for the Summer, with fullback Quan Horn given the call-up after an outstanding season. The core group will remain in Johannesburg for the clash with the All Blacks, and Horn could well return to his club should Rassie Erasmus prefer what he sees from Damien Willemse or Aphelele Fassi in the Boks camp.
With the likes of scrum half Morne van den Berg hopeful to return from injury, to lead the in-form back-line with fly half Chris Smith and powerhouse centre Henco van Wyk in the mix, the All Blacks should not underestimate their trip to Ellis Park, with the Lions proving to be a one-for-all side that no opponent should take lightly.
6. STORMERS
August 7th, DHL Stadium – Cape Town
Coming in at sixth place is the Stormers, who enjoyed a tremendous run throughout the latest URC campaign. The Stormers raced neck-and-neck with Glasgow Warriors for the majority of the regular season, and eventually finished third to the table-topping Scottish side, and a resurgent Leinster outfit. The Stormers enjoyed a blistering start to the campaign across their United Rugby Championship and Investec Champions Cup fronts, with a 10-match winning streak laying down their intent for the season.
However, disaster would strike in the URC quarter-finals, with Stormers talisman and URC Player of the Year Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu sustaining a season-ending leg injury, whilst scoring a try against Cardiff. The enigmatic out-half has since been left out of the Springboks wider training group for the Summer, with nine Stormers men called up to the green and gold camp. Much like the Sharks entry, this could well prove to be to the detriment of the Cape Town side, for when the All Blacks arrive in August.
Uunless Rassie Erasmus embraces Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt’s mentality from the last Lions tour, and allows each and every Stormer to return back to their club for the All Blacks match, the Cape Towners could wield an under-armed arsenal for the battle with New Zealand. The likes of Ntuthuko Mcunu, Evan Roos, Cobus Reinach and Damien Willemse are more likely than not going to be retained by Rassie in the Springboks camp, with the ‘win at all costs’ mentality embodied within ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’. So, whilst we expect a strong showing from the in-form Stormers, key absentees keeps them lower on this list.
5. BULLS
August 15th, Loftus Versfeld – Pretoria
In at number five are the Bulls, with the Pretoria side rounding off the All Blacks’ club-level opponents for their August tour. The Bulls made it all the way to the United Rugby Championship Final for their latest domestic campaign, yet even with a new head coach at the helm in Ruan Ackermann, the unwanted losing streak in URC Grand Finals continued to four in a row. The Bulls have made quite the unwanted habit of falling at the final hurdle, as their 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026 appearances on the biggest stage only brought silver medals back home to Pretoria.
The latest campaign was a classic example of a team hitting their peak too early. There is no denying that the Bulls were incredible upon their URC semi-final come-back win over league-topping Glasgow Warriors, to turn their 18-point deficit around for a 22-21 win at Murrayfield. However, the following final was a much different story, as Leinster ran out an emphatic 29-7 win for a successful title defence upon Leo Cullen’s final match in charge of the province.
Looking at the Bulls squad, there are 10 players called up into Rassie Erasmus’ wider training camp with preparations currently ongoing for the Nations Championship. In the heart of this is the in-form scrum half Embrose Papier, who will be out to give Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach a run for the nine jersey, and is unlikely to feature for the Bulls against the All Blacks. The Bulls also boast a tremendous front row, with Gerard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw all called up for the Boks. However, should Rassie prefer perhaps Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit for the Test series, then a full-strength Bulls scrum would certainly challenge the incoming All Blacks, and could well shock the tourists.
4. ITALY
July 11th, Hnry Stadium – Wellington
Looking at the incoming Nations Championship now, with no straight-forward matches in store for the All Blacks across the next three weeks. After an opening round clash with France (more on them shortly), New Zealand then host Italy in Round 2, in what is arguably the best ever iteration of the Azzurri that the game has ever seen. There’s no denying that Gonzalo Quesada is reaping the rewards of his long-term Italian project, with the former Pumas fly half guiding his men to a historic 2026 Six Nations campaign.
Italy recorded their joint-best ever performance in the annual championship, since the Azzurri were added to expand the Five Nations in 2000. Italy finished fourth in the overall rankings, in a feat only previously accomplished in 2007 and 2013. Italy began their efforts with a gutsy one-point win over Scotland in the torrential Roman rain, before picking up a first-ever men’s test win over England, to snap the streak of 33 previously failed attempts.
At the heart of this Italian Renaissance period are two elements – a relentless back row and an exhilarating attacking line. With the likes of captain Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri and Lorenzo Cannone at full-strength, the Italian flankers and eight-man will fight tooth and nail for every inch of grass and leave nothing guaranteed for the All Blacks. Then the dazzling back-line comes into play, with the mercurial Paolo Garbisi spear-heading the offensive, with the world’s most in-form centre Tomasso Menoncello linking up with game-breaking powerhouse Juan Ignacio Brex. The Toulousain pocket-rocket Ange Capuozzo rounds off the side, with Italy out to upset the Kiwi capital and record a first ever win over the All Blacks this Summer.
3. IRELAND
July 18th, Eden Park – Auckland
In at third place is a rejuvenated Ireland team, who look to be in far stronger form than when they last took on the All Blacks in November. It was quite the one-sided afternoon out in Chicago’s Soldier Field, as New Zealand ran in a 26-13 win to commence that year’s Autumn Nations Series. However, Ireland have since rallied back throughout an impressive 2026 Six Nations campaign that culminated in hard-fought Triple Crown glory as the dominant force from the traditional Home Nations.
Ireland stared off their 2026 calendar year with an underwhelming defeat to eventual Six Nations champions France, yet would turn their fortunes around to establish a five consecutive wins over Italy, England, Wales and Scotland. The triumph over England was the pick of the bunch, as Andy Farrell’s men ran roughshod at Twickenham to record their biggest ever win at Allianz Stadium with a 42-21 score-line. After plenty of injury uncertainties ahead of the championship, the 2026 Six Nations was the year for Ulster’s stars to shine, as Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune and Tom O’Toole all enjoyed stunning bills of form.
Now, with Andy Farrell signing a contract extension through to the 2031 Rugby World Cup, Ireland will want a solid performance in Auckland to reiterate this re-newed confidence. The men in green have the ultimate opportunity to end the All Blacks’ 32-year unbeaten run at Eden Park, as the 50-match streak goes on the line to end the Nations Championship. However, Ireland will have to navigate a series of injuries, with captain Caelan Doris ruled out following the URC Final, with Jack Crowley, Ryan Baird, Andrew Porter and Mack Hansen also unavailable for the tour.
2. FRANCE
July 4th, One New Zealand Stadium – Christchurch
It’s certainly tight at the top, yet we put France just below the number one ranked side the All Blacks will face this Summer – with no prizes for guessing who takes the top spot. Les Bleus have once again been tremendous since the start of the calendar year, as Fabien Galthie’s side continue to hold their own as the team to beat in the Six Nations. France successfully retained their crown in the most dramatic of circumstances, with Thomas Ramos’ last-ditch penalty handing England a final round defeat, and keeping the title out of Ireland’s hands back in March.
Since then, the stars of the France team have been deployed back to their clubs, with Bordeaux-Begles once again crowned kings of Europe. Bordeaux successfully defended their Investec Champions Cup title with a triumph over Leinster, in what marked the world-beating emergence of Maxime Lucu. The scrum half has long been the understudy to Antoine Dupont, with Lucu on hand to hold down the nine jersey throughout the superstar’s injury and Olympic Sevens absence over recent years. However now, Lucu is a genuine challenger for the starting spot, and will lead the line against New Zealand with Dupont in the Top 14 Final.
It was only a year ago when France last headed down to New Zealand, yet there was much criticism around the inexperienced side Fabien Galthie sent for the three-nilled Summer series against the triumphant All Blacks. With nothing tangible on the line, Galthie used the expedition to hand a plethora of fresh faces some top-level experience, and returns to New Zealand a year later with a stacked squad of international talents.
Even without the Toulouse and Montpellier stars for the time being, the France team for the Nations Championship is a far cry from the year before, and could well hand New Zealand an upset defeat as they debut at the new One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.
1. SOUTH AFRICA
August 22nd – Ellis Park, Johannesburg / August 29th – DHL Stadium, Cape Town / September 5th – FNB Stadium, Johannesburg / September 12th – M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, USA
Like we said, no points for guessing the top spot. None other than the Springboks pose the biggest threat to the All Blacks this Summer, with the two titans of the test rugby stage set to lock horns across a colossal four-match test series throughout August and September. With a test match trilogy set across Johannesburg and Cape Town, the Springboks and All Blacks take ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ stateside for the final match, with a blockbuster battle at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
It almost goes without saying, but the Springboks are still the best team in the world and Rassie Erasmus would love nothing more than to squash the All Blacks with four straight test match victories. As momentum continues to build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, the two Southern Hemisphere heavyweights will be playing for that mental edge towards the tournament. As back-to-back world champions, South Africa are searching to become the first side in history to win three consecutive Rugby World Cup titles, in what would be an absolute nightmare outcome for their arch-rival All Blacks.
With ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ replacing the Rugby Championship this year, South Africa will keep hold of SANZAAR’s top prize for another 12 months. The Springboks successfully defended their Rugby Championship title last year, in what was a historic first retention for the men in green and gold. The depth that South Africa bring to the incoming series with New Zealand is the best in the world, and even if Rassie Erasmus lets his top names risk injury and play for their URC clubs against the All Blacks, the Springboks head coach will still have a boundless arsenal of weapons to unleash. The Springboks are favourites this Summer, in what could be a long four weeks for Dave Rennie’s All Blacks.
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