The first rugby match ever played at M&T Bank Stadium drew the largest rugby union crowd in American history, and the team ranked No. 1 in the world made sure nobody left early wondering what the fuss was about.
South Africa beat New Zealand 43-28 on Saturday night on Russell Street, scoring six tries to clinch the inaugural Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series 3-1. The official attendance was 68,173 — a near-sellout of a stadium that holds about 71,000, and comfortably past the roughly 61,500 who watched Ireland upset the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016, the previous mark for a single rugby match in the United States.
How the Springboks Pulled Away
For 40 minutes it was the close, ugly, gorgeous thing this rivalry usually is. Damian de Allende and Morné van den Berg crossed for South Africa, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu added a penalty, and New Zealand answered through hooker Codie Taylor and Will Jordan, both converted by Damian McKenzie. Halftime: 17-14 Springboks, and anyone's match.
Then South Africa emptied its bench. The reinforcements arrived just after the restart, the scrum began to tilt, and the maul turned into a battering ram. Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph du Toit scored to stretch the lead to 29-14. Ethan Blackadder got New Zealand back within striking range, but Kurt-Lee Arendse read a pass and ran it back for a try in the 71st minute, and Cameron Hanekom finished the job. Beauden Barrett's late try only trimmed the margin.
The numbers behind it were brutal in the way Springbok wins usually are: 523 post-contact metres to New Zealand's 369, 104 rucks won with roughly 70 percent cleared inside three seconds, and 20 All Blacks turnovers. De Allende carried 18 times. Blackadder made 21 tackles in a losing cause.
It was also Rassie Erasmus' 100th Test in charge of South Africa, and the first time these two countries have played a traditional four-match series in 30 years. New Zealand won the opener 33-16 in Johannesburg. South Africa took the next three: 33-26 in Cape Town, 29-24 in Soweto, and this one, 6,000 miles from either country.
What They Said
Captain Siya Kolisi pointed at his coach when asked what changed over the four weeks.
"He knows how to get us up, and when he speaks to us he reminds us where we come from, the country that we come from," Kolisi said of Erasmus.
He spread the credit past the 23 men who played. "The players who are in the group who are not playing. We do it for them," Kolisi said. "The guys that are injured, the guys that couldn't make the tour, and also for the people of South Africa."
Taylor, who led the haka in front of a crowd that went quiet for it, did not look for excuses. "Full credit to them -- they're a great side and they've proven why they're world champions," the All Blacks captain said. He put the series loss down to accumulation: "We talk a lot about moments throughout the week when we review our Test matches and South Africa just stacked a few more moments against us over the last couple of games."
Taylor also pointed the squad forward, toward the 2027 World Cup. "We're at an interesting place at the moment as a rugby nation. We've fallen short in this series but I can assure you and everyone back home that we're working hard."
Why Saturday Mattered in Baltimore
Baltimore did not land this fixture by accident. The Maryland Sports Commission, Visit Baltimore and the Baltimore Ravens have submitted a joint bid to host matches at the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the first men's edition to be played in the United States — and Saturday was the audition.
"Baltimore would like to be a host in the 2031 World Cup, and I see this as a way to strengthen their bargaining position with World Rugby when deciding where the World Cup is going to be played," South African Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer said ahead of the match.
The competition is crowded. Twenty-seven cities entered the process, including Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, and World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin said this month that "we've still got 25-plus cities involved in that process, which is fantastic." Somewhere between 12 and 16 will be chosen, with finalists expected by year's end. World Rugby projects the tournament will generate $1.3 billion to $3.8 billion in economic activity and draw 150,000 to 400,000 international visitors.
Baltimore's pitch has real advantages: natural grass, an NFL stadium with recently renovated premium spaces, and a location inside a two-hour drive of Washington and Philadelphia. Ravens chief growth officer Moon Javaid framed the value before kickoff. "It brings Baltimore to the headlines and to the forefront of the sports ecosystem," he said.
A nearly full stadium in green and gold and black, filling Federal Hill before the match and the Light Rail after it, made that argument better than any bid document could. Baltimore's next audience with World Rugby comes with a receipt.
Match Information
Result: South Africa 43, New Zealand 28 (Fourth Test)
Series: South Africa wins Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 3-1
Halftime: South Africa 17, New Zealand 14
Attendance: 68,173 (official) — a near-sellout, and a U.S. record for a rugby union match
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, 1101 Russell St., Baltimore
Tries: South Africa — de Allende, van den Berg, Marx, du Toit, Arendse, Hanekom. New Zealand — Taylor, Jordan, Blackadder, B. Barrett.
Read our pre-match primer and visitor's guide for how the series got here.