Baltimore is primed and ready to host New Zealand vs South Africa on Saturday, September 12. The test match is the fourth, and final, of a four-match series between the World No. 1 South Africa (Springboks) and World no. 2 New Zealand (All Blacks).
The prior three matches of the series were played in South Africa. New Zealand won game one in Johannesburg but South Africa took a 2-1 lead after winning game two in Cape Town and game three in Soweto.
The attraction has proved popular in Baltimore, Maryland. Ticket availability is extremely limited as it is expected to reach a full 71,000-seat capacity crowd.
The match is not rugby’s first U.S experiment. New Zealand faced the USA and filled Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2014. The All Blacks also faced Ireland at the Chicago stadium in 2016 and 2025 and took-on Fiji in San Diego in 2024.
South Africa has played three historic Test matches on United States soil, including a 1981 victory over the USA Eagles (38–7) in Glenville, New York, a 2001 win against the USA Eagles (43–20) at the Houston Astrodome, and a narrow 2018 defeat to Wales (22–20) at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
Baltimore is hosting this Test match as a strategic showcase designed to test-drive stadium infrastructure and build mainstream momentum ahead of the United States hosting the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031. Furthermore, Baltimore is currently one of 27 U.S. applicant cities vying to be selected as an official tournament host city for the 2031 global event.
Successfully staging an elite match of this magnitude allows local organizers to demonstrate to World Rugby that the region can comfortably manage massive international rugby crowds.
SOUTH AFRICA
1 Ox Nché, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt.), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese, 9 Morné van den Berg, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Ethan Hooker, 12 Damian de Allende, 13 Jesse Kriel, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 15 Damian Willemse
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 André Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, and 23 Manie Libbok
NEW ZEALAND
1 Ethan de Groot, 2 Codie Taylor (capt.), 3 Fletcher Newell, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 5 Sam Darry, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 8 Peter Lakai, 9 Cam Roigard, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 11 Josh Moorby, 12 Jordie Barrett, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 14 Will Jordan, 15 Damian McKenzie
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Beauden Barrett
