BokBuster events for 2025 

SPOTLIGHT: Following a memorable 2024 season, @rugby365com takes a look at five key events to look out for in 2025.

1. New Zealand v South Africa Test series

The world champion Springboks will head to Aotearoa to face the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests at Eden Park on September 6 and the Wellington Regional Stadium on September 13.

South Africa is currently on a four-match winning streak over their most respected rival since the 2023 World Cup Final – a feat that last occurred back between 1937 and 1949.

The All Blacks are putting a 30-year-long unbeaten record on the line in the first Test at Eden Park – where they haven’t lost in 50 Tests and last tasted defeat at the ground against the French in 1994.

This will be the Boks’ biggest Test outside of a World Cup Final – aiming to end the Eden Park record and gun equal their longest-running winning streak against the All Blacks (six) that came between September 4, 1937 and July 14, 1956.

The All Blacks will also be keen to reclaim the Freedom Cup they had lost to South Africa in 2024 after being holders of the trophy for 15 consecutive years, as well as the Rugby Championship.

The article continues below…

2. Will SARU decide on an equity partner?

It’s been a challenging period for the South African Rugby Union, whose financial situation has been well documented as has their search towards an equity partner.

Following a heavy pushback by the majority of the 14 South African unions (seven) who didn’t give the green light in favour of the Ackerley Sports Group to be an equity partner to SARU, the union is now at a crossroads to secure a partner in order to gain financial stability.

The sustainability and success of the game South African will require an investment that will benefit all parties involved and that is the challenge SARU need to overcome rather sooner than later in 2025.

*See also: SARU equity: Time for the ‘real’ players to step up

3. Is World Cup 2025 a turning point for the women’s game?

The 2025 Women’s World Cup in England is set to be the highest attended of the global showpiece with over 220,000 tickets sold already.

This number already exceeds, by 50 percent, that World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.

Following the heartbreak for the heavily favoured England in 2021 against hosts New Zealand in front of a 42,579-strong Eden Park crowd, the Red Roses will be looking to claim the global title on home soil in 2025.

All indications are there that this will indeed be the biggest Women’s World Cup in history – with superstars such as the USA’s Ilona Maher and Aussie Sevens duo Charlotte Caslick and Maddison Levi all pushing for selection.

The article continues below…

4. British and Irish Lions tour to Australia

It will be one of the more eagerly anticipated B&I Lions tours but not necessarily for the reason that it will be a competitive series following the Wallabies’ decline in recent years.

The Wallabies, however, are slowly showing great signs of progress following big end-of-year tour victories against England and Wales.

Despite going down 13-27 to Scotland at Murrayfield, Australia came agonisingly close to upsetting Ireland a week later in Dublin as Joe Schmidt’s side showed great improvement since their disastrous 2024 Rugby Championship campaign in which they won one out of six Tests including a record 27-67 loss to Los Pumas.

Andy Farrell is the first British & Irish Lions coach since Warren Gatland took the reigns in 2013 against the Wallabies after serving as an assistant in 2009.

The Ireland boss has a big task at hand to get a series victory for the combined touring outfit for the first time since Gatland’s Lions claimed victory against the Wallabies in 2013.

The article continues below..

The decline of Sevens’ popularity in South Africa

The Cape Town Sevens has been a hit since its inception in 2015 when tickets for both days were sold out in less than an hour.

The trend continued in 2016 but started to decline in 2017 until the global pandemic robbed the event of being hosted in 2020 and 2021.

The 2022 Sevens World Cup at the Cape Town Stadium was the most successful in terms of attendance – with 105,000 fans going through the turnstiles over the course of three days, the average daily attendance was a mere 35,000 in a 55,000-capacity stadium.

Sales post the global pandemic for the Cape Town Sevens have been utterly poor for a region known for its sport-crazy fans.

With just over 75,000 attending the last event in 2024 over two days, including a two-for-one ticket special on Black Friday due to struggling sales, one has to wonder what could be done in 2025 to push the attendance number up.