Boks aim to silence critics in final Greatest Rivalry Series Test

South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, says the Springboks’ match against the All Blacks affords the country a dose of sports diplomacy at its best.

The fourth and final Test in the Greatest Rivalry Series culminates in Baltimore on Saturday with the Springboks leading the series 2-1.

Meyer, along with South African Rugby Union president Mark Alexander, hosted a cocktail reception in the build-up to Saturday’s crunch match in a country that will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031.

Meyer has called having the Springboks in the US “a privilege”.

“It’s a great opportunity, given like you said, what Springbok rugby means to the nation at this stage.

I mean, it’s far more than just rugby or rugby lovers.

It’s the pride of the nation in many ways, like many other sports codes, but rugby in particular, I think, is close to many South Africans’ hearts and we have seen it in the past week.

When the Springboks arrived on Sunday, there was a huge crowd welcoming them.

The captain, Siya Kolisi, said to me afterwards he felt like he was at home on the arrival at Baltimore Airport.

That just shows the spirit and the excitement.” VIDEO | Greatest Rivalry Series | Roelf Meyer on the link between sport and diplomacy https://t.co/6oyS2ArK6N — SABC News (@SABCNews) September 10, 2026 Former Springbok Captain Naas Botha, who’s now Director of Rugby at the Kansas City Blues in Missouri, says the Springboks losing the first Test in the series was a blessing in disguise, putting the rest of the tournament for the players in a completely different mindset.

Botha, who is in the World Rugby Hall of Fame, has called for a knock-out blow from the Bokke.

“It’s going to be tough for New Zealand because it was a very short week.

You don’t really recover that well.

Yes, there’s a number of new players getting an opportunity.