All Blacks 2026 Games: Full Schedule, Results and Fixtures

The 2026 All Blacks season has already delivered some of the biggest change in New Zealand rugby for a generation. A new head coach, the launch of World Rugby’s 12-team Nations Championship, the return of a full multi-Test tour of South Africa for the first time in three decades, and the opening of a brand-new roofed stadium in Christchurch have all reshaped the calendar in the same year. This guide walks through the whole schedule — the July home Tests, the tour of the Republic, the October Bledisloe Cup and the November swing through the United Kingdom — with confirmed results for the Tests already played and the fixtures still to come. It is written to make sense whether you have followed the team for decades or are watching your first Test.

How the 2026 All Blacks calendar is built

Unlike a normal season, the 2026 programme is split into four clearly separate blocks rather than one continuous run of home and away Tests. First came a three-match July window at home, which doubled as New Zealand’s share of the inaugural Nations Championship. That was followed in August and September by an eight-match tour of South Africa branded “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry”. October brings the two-Test Bledisloe Cup against Australia, and November sends the side to Scotland, Wales and England before the tournament’s first Finals Weekend in London.

The traditional Rugby Championship, which normally pits New Zealand against South Africa, Australia and Argentina, does not take place in 2026. It has been set aside for one year so the Nations Championship and the South Africa tour can slot into the window, and it is scheduled to return in 2027. That is why New Zealand and South Africa met on tour rather than in a league table this year.

The July home Tests

The season opened with three home Tests inside a fortnight, spread across New Zealand’s three largest rugby cities. Each match counted towards the Nations Championship standings, so points, tries and margins mattered beyond the result on the night. All three were won, giving the side a clean sweep of its home block. The table below lists the fixtures with their final scores.

What happened in July

The opener against France was the tightest of the three. New Zealand edged a fast, high-scoring contest 34–32 in Christchurch to retain the Dave Gallaher Trophy, the silverware contested whenever the two nations meet, for a record 14th time. A week later in Wellington the side pulled clear of Italy 47–17, a night remembered for wing Will Jordan passing Doug Howlett to become the All Blacks’ all-time leading try-scorer. The block closed at Eden Park with a six-try, 40–21 win over Ireland that extended the team’s remarkable unbeaten Test run at the Auckland ground and rounded off a perfect three from three at home.

The Nations Championship explained

The Nations Championship is a new global competition run by World Rugby, played for the first time in 2026. It gathers 12 leading nations into a single points-based event and is designed to give mid-year and end-of-year Tests, which previously stood alone as friendlies or short series, a shared purpose and a trophy at the end. It is scheduled to run every two years, in the seasons that do not clash with a Rugby World Cup or a British & Irish Lions tour.

Format and conferences

The 12 teams are divided into two groups of six. The Southern Hemisphere conference contains New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan, while the Northern Hemisphere conference is made up of the Six Nations sides — France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Italy. Teams do not play the others in their own conference during the pool phase. Instead, each Southern Hemisphere side hosts three Northern opponents in July, then travels to face three more in November, so every league match is a cross-hemisphere Test.

• July window: Southern Hemisphere nations host Northern Hemisphere opponents.
• November window: the fixtures reverse, with Northern nations hosting.
• Points: the usual Test scoring applies, with bonus points for scoring four or more tries and for losing narrowly.
• Finals Weekend: final placings are settled in London at the end of November, with the leading side from each conference meeting in the Grand Final and the remaining teams ranked through cross-over play-offs.

For New Zealand, the practical effect is that the July home Tests and the November tour are two halves of the same competition, with a place in the Finals Weekend on the line across all six matches. If you want the wider background on how Test results are recorded and how the team’s points tally builds, our guide to All Blacks results and scoring covers it in plain terms.

One New Zealand Stadium: rugby returns to Christchurch

The France Test on 4 July was the first at a large, permanent stadium in the Canterbury region since the 2011 earthquakes forced the closure of Lancaster Park. The new venue, officially One New Zealand Stadium and widely known by its project name Te Kaha, seats 30,000 and is fully roofed. That covered design is significant for the way the All Blacks like to play: a dry, fast surface suits an expansive, high-tempo game regardless of the cold, wet conditions common in a Christchurch winter.

Demand was intense, with tickets for the opening Test selling out well in advance. Beyond the rugby, the stadium is a major civic project for the city, giving Canterbury a modern indoor arena capable of hosting concerts and other codes as well as international rugby. For readers who like to compare venues and pitch layouts across the game, our explainer on rugby field dimensions sets out the standard measurements. Wider sports-calendar context across codes and seasons is also catalogued on Wikipedia.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry: the tour of South Africa

In August and September the All Blacks undertook a full tour of South Africa, the first of its kind in roughly 30 years and a deliberate revival of the long, province-and-Test format that defined touring in the amateur era. Marketed as “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry”, the trip ran to eight matches: four warm-up games against United Rugby Championship franchises and a four-Test series against the Springboks. The final Test was staged outside the Republic for the first time, at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore in the United States, as the rivalry was taken to a new market.

The tour did not go New Zealand’s way once the Tests began. After winning all four franchise games and taking the opening Test in Johannesburg, the side lost the next three to hand South Africa the series 3–1 and the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry trophy. The full results are below.

The Bledisloe Cup: October’s trans-Tasman decider

After the intensity of the South African series, October brings the Bledisloe Cup against Australia. This two-Test series sits outside the Nations Championship and remains the most emotionally charged bilateral contest on the New Zealand calendar. The All Blacks have held the trophy continuously since 2003, so keeping it is treated as a non-negotiable each year rather than a bonus.

The first Test is at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 10 October, where the side’s long unbeaten home record will again be on the line, before the second Test the following week at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Both matches are still to be played as of late September.

• Bledisloe I: Saturday 10 October 2026, Eden Park, Auckland.
• Bledisloe II: Saturday 17 October 2026, Stadium Australia (Accor Stadium), Sydney.

The two sides have a deep history across many eras of the game; if you enjoy that kind of long-view rivalry reading, our feature on All Blacks versus England unpacks another of the team’s oldest fixtures.

The November tour and Finals Weekend

The season closes with the Northern Hemisphere half of the Nations Championship. New Zealand travels to face Scotland, Wales and England on three successive weekends, with each result feeding into the final standings. The tournament then culminates in its first Finals Weekend, held in London over 27–29 November, where the placing matches and the Grand Final are played.

• Sat 7 Nov: Scotland, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh.
• Sat 14 Nov: Wales, Principality Stadium, Cardiff.
• Sat 21 Nov: England, Allianz Stadium (Twickenham), London.
• 27–29 Nov: Nations Championship Finals Weekend, London.

Historically the All Blacks have travelled well in November, using their conditioning to cope with heavy European grounds and short turnarounds. The England fixture at a sold-out Allianz Stadium is likely to be the standout, continuing a rivalry that has produced several tight Tests in recent seasons.

A new era: Dave Rennie takes charge

The biggest off-field story of 2026 is the change of coach. Scott Robertson, who took over after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, departed in January 2026 following a review of the 2025 season. After a search of nearly two months, New Zealand Rugby appointed Dave Rennie as head coach in March, on a deal running through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Rennie is an experienced operator who led the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Rugby titles and later coached both Glasgow Warriors and the Wallabies. He becomes the first All Blacks head coach of Pasifika heritage, and inherited a demanding first assignment: the inaugural Nations Championship and the tour of South Africa, back to back. His side’s response — a clean July sweep followed by a losing Test series in the Republic — frames the November tour as an important measure of where the team is heading into a World Cup year.

Players and milestones in 2026

Individual landmarks have been a feature of the season. Will Jordan’s try against Italy in Wellington moved him past Doug Howlett as the All Blacks’ record try-scorer, a milestone reached at just the right moment in front of a home crowd. The squad has also leaned on a spine of senior players in the key decision-making roles while blooding younger forwards, particularly in the tight five, to build the depth needed to match the physical packs of South Africa and Ireland.

Much of that emerging talent comes through Super Rugby Pacific, the professional competition that feeds the national side. The Crusaders’ win in the 2025 Super Rugby final is a recent example of the domestic form that shapes selection, while long-serving names such as Beauden Barrett continue to provide experience and game-management in the biggest Tests.

How to watch and buy tickets

In New Zealand, live coverage of All Blacks Tests is carried by Sky Sport, with match information and official ticket links published through the team’s own channels. Tickets for home Tests are generally sold via the All Blacks website and Ticketmaster NZ, with pre-sale registration opening some months ahead of each window; the Christchurch opener sold out early, so registering for alerts is the safest way to secure seats for high-demand matches.

If you prefer to follow along digitally rather than at the ground, streaming, apps and second-screen tools have changed how supporters keep up with every Test. Our guide to the digital rugby fan experience in New Zealand runs through the main options for watching and following the side safely.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the 2026 All Blacks season start and who won the opener?

The season began on Saturday 4 July 2026 against France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch. The All Blacks won a tight contest 34–32 and retained the Dave Gallaher Trophy for a record 14th time.

Who coaches the All Blacks in 2026?

Dave Rennie. He was appointed in March 2026 after Scott Robertson departed in January following a review of the 2025 season, and is contracted through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Rennie is the first All Blacks head coach of Pasifika heritage.

What is the Nations Championship?

It is a new World Rugby competition, played for the first time in 2026, that brings 12 nations into a single points-based event. Southern Hemisphere teams host Northern opponents in July and travel north in November, with a Finals Weekend in London deciding the placings.

Did the All Blacks beat South Africa on the 2026 tour?

No. The All Blacks won all four franchise games and the opening Test, but South Africa took the next three Tests to win the four-match series 3–1 and claim the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry trophy. The final Test was played in Baltimore in the United States.

When is the Bledisloe Cup in 2026?

The two Tests against Australia are on Saturday 10 October at Eden Park in Auckland and Saturday 17 October at Stadium Australia in Sydney. New Zealand has held the Bledisloe Cup continuously since 2003.