South Africa’s Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks will play the fourth match of their four-Test series on September 12 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, United States. The match could determine the winner of the series. Baltimore was chosen primarily because of commercial opportunities and the desire to grow rugby’s audience in the United States.
Additional revenue
As Daily Maverick reports, according to estimates by several sources, the South African Rugby Union and New Zealand Rugby could each earn approximately 90 million South African rand more from the match in Baltimore than if the game were held in South Africa. According to these sources, each of the first three Tests in the series generated between 60 million and 80 million rand.
Revenue from the US match includes a payment from World Rugby, which encourages games to be held in the United States ahead of the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup. The rugby unions have engaged marketing companies to sell the match, while the deal to stage the game in Baltimore was secured by Australian agency TEG.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Entering the US market
South African Rugby Union CEO Rian Oberholzer previously said that it is important for South African rugby to introduce the Springboks to a new audience and enter new territories. According to him, South Africa’s national team has played in the United States only twice since the start of this millennium, while the All Blacks have played matches in the country much more frequently.
In May 2026, World Rugby unveiled a six-year strategy for developing the US market. The organization plans to invest £200 million in US rugby together with national unions ahead of the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup. Baltimore is among 27 cities bidding to host matches in the tournament.
One of the four Tests was planned from the outset to be played at a neutral venue; London and Ireland were considered among the options. However, these markets already have an active audience of fans from South Africa and New Zealand. The United States remains a market for attracting new supporters, collecting audience data and testing logistics ahead of the 2031 World Cup.
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