South Africa secured a 3-1 series victory over New Zealand in the inaugural "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry" series, further underlining their status as the world's top-ranked side ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup. The Springboks lost the opening Test in Johannesburg but responded by leaning on their trademark forward power, particularly the driving maul and scrum, to win three consecutive matches, including a 43-28 victory in Baltimore, despite earlier attempts to play a more expansive game under new attack coach Tony Brown.

The series, which replaced this year's Rugby Championship and will be revived in 2029, saw fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu start all four Tests after returning from injury, though he lacked some of his usual sparkle, leaving South Africa with a decision over whether to recall the experienced Handre Pollard for big occasions. New Zealand, rebuilding under new head coach Dave Rennie following Scott Robertson's dismissal in January, showed genuine promise, notably a 33-16 win at Ellis Park, with young half-backs Cam Roigard and Ruben Love helping restore the All Blacks' traditional attacking, transition-based style even as they ultimately fell short overall.