Although the touring All Blacks concluded their franchise games with an exciting victory over the Lions, the true triumph lies in the nostalgic, dynamic spectacle that this historic week-long tour brought back to South African rugby fans.
When the final whistle blew between the Lions and the touring All Blacks on Tuesday evening at Ellis Park, it did not cause sadness among the hosts due to the loss at the end of the match. On the contrary, it marked the conclusion of an old element of the tour, as the All Blacks transition to a full international mode.
For local spectators, the entire tour was a breath of fresh air. Usually, when the Springboks and All Blacks meet, one can expect constant physical battles interspersed with moments of explosive precision. However, the matches within the franchise tour offered something entirely different.
Since New Zealand fielded mostly players from its wider squad, these mid-week games became platforms for experimentation. Although the matches against the South African franchises were no less physical than a full international match, the focus was on expansive running rugby.
Four matches—against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls, and Lions—were condensed into a tight three-week window. With the exception of the game against the Lions, all of them took place before the Springboks met the All Blacks in the first test match. This schedule allowed New Zealand to test sub-programs and combinations they were not yet ready to deploy at the highest level. For dedicated rugby fans, this was a real gift.
Acknowledging that the quality fluctuated, after New Zealand went through a tough initial test against the Stormers with a score of 38-21, the matches against the Sharks and Bulls proved disappointingly one-sided, ending with defeats of 54-0 in Durban and 50-19 in Pretoria.
However, the finale at Ellis Park delivered pure magic. The Lions led 35-17 before New Zealand slowly regained the advantage, ultimately winning 41-35 in the last minute.
Ultimately, the score mattered less than the narrative: the local South African franchise fought evenly with the world's leading rugby nation and almost managed a monumental upset. Even against a rotated team, it was an exciting spectacle and a fitting conclusion to the first such tour in South Africa in 30 years. For three weeks, Mzansi's rugby fans were truly satisfied.