Record crowd in US for Springboks vs All Blacks is World Cup 'appetiser' — SkimNews
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- South Africa's Springboks defeated New Zealand's All Blacks 43-28 in the fourth and final Test of their Greatest Rivalry series at Baltimore's NFL stadium, clinching a 3-1 series victory.
- The crowd of 68,173 set a new record for a rugby international on US soil, with most spectators wearing Springbok green and a smaller pocket of All Blacks black.
- Springboks captain Siya Kolisi proposed that NFL franchises become part-owners of existing American rugby clubs and allow fringe NFL players to compete in rugby during the offseason.
- All Blacks captain Codie Taylor said the enthusiastic reception left rugby "in a strong place to lay the foundation" for the 2031 Rugby World Cup the US will host.
- The Baltimore Test marked Rassie Erasmus' 100th match as Springboks head coach; Kolisi credited him as the reason South Africa remains dominant.
- The series reversed dramatically after the opening Test — Ellis Park (SA 16-33 NZ) — with South Africa winning the next three at Cape Town (33-26), FNB Stadium (29-24), and Baltimore (43-28).
Why it matters: World Rugby has spent years trying to crack the lucrative American sports market, and a 68,173-strong, predominantly Springbok-wearing crowd in Baltimore is the strongest commercial signal yet that rugby can fill big US venues. His concrete pitch for NFL franchise ownership stakes in US rugby clubs gives the 2031 World Cup committee a specific structural mechanism to convert one-off curiosity into a lasting foothold.
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