All Blacks and Springboks unveil split trophy that honours a drawn series

New Zealand Rugby and SA Rugby have agreed that if the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour ends level, no tiebreaker will be played — the series will simply be declared a draw. The decision was revealed at a trophy launch event in Johannesburg on Wednesday, where the unique prize that will mark the outcome was unveiled for the first time.

Former Springboks captain Gary Teichmann and former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick carried the two halves of the sculptural trophy onto the stage separately before pressing them together, demonstrating how magnets join them into a single piece. Should either side claim at least three wins across the series, they take the unified trophy. If the series ends two-all, each nation keeps one half for the next four years until the next tour.

The trophy’s design resembles a blade of grass. New Zealand’s half features Maori artwork created by Kereama Taepa, while South Africa’s half carries artwork by Bonolo Chepape.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer explained the thinking behind the format. “The brief to the agencies was to create a trophy that was really like no other, and one to capture the essence of the rivalry,” he said. “If each team has won two Tests at the end of 320 minutes of intense rugby, it seemed inappropriate to decide a winner on an arbitrary metric.”

New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster echoed that sentiment. “The trophy is a really fitting way to recognise what this rivalry is about. It’s something different and unique, and importantly, it tells the story of two teams and two countries that have been competing against each other for more than 100 years.”

Fitzpatrick, the first All Blacks captain to win a series on South African soil, backed the no-tiebreaker rule without hesitation. “I don’t want to go to a kickoff or extra time. Just let the rivalry continue — I think that’s the way it should be,” he told reporters at the launch.

The decision has historical precedent. Both of the first two tours between the sides, in 1921 and 1928, ended in a draw. This is the eighth time in 12 tours that the series has featured four Tests, making the drawn-series scenario a genuine possibility rather than a theoretical one.