The brief:
Create a brand platform to promote the rivalry between the world’s greatest national rugby teams, New Zealand’s All Blacks and South African’s Springboks. These two nations rarely meet outside of the usual rugby tournaments so what better way to create a specific tournament between these giants of rugby to elevate their supremacy even further and use the tournament to grow the sport of rugby on a global scale and become the El Classico equivalent but for national rugby.

The brand platform generation included name generation and brand world building across three identities which one central positioning across and client liason between multiple national team stakeholders and potential sponsors of the event. Particular touchpints included EPGs, lower third onscreen identity behaviours, brand film, branding and marketing communications, physical space build and associated digital touchpoints.

V - Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry will be a tour like no other…

August - September 2026. New Zealand will tour South Africa for the first time in 30 years.
Tradition, tension and world-class rugby collide across four tests and four franchise matches.

How the tournament works:
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, a tour like no other, takes place every four years, hosted alternately between South Africa and New Zealand. The first tour takes place in South Africa in August-September 2026. New Zealand will play eight matches including four Test matches at Ellis Park (Johannesburg), DHL Stadium (Cape Town), FNB Stadium (Johannesburg) and a landmark fourth Test at an international venue. They will also face four franchise teams including the DHL Stormers, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and Lions. In 2030, New Zealand plays host as South Africa embark on their first professional-era tour of the country, taking in provincial sides in addition to a Test series. The next chapter in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry.

"I've no doubt this is going to be something huge and something this generation will never forget." - Siya Kolisi, South Africa Captain.

Site: https://greatest-rivalry.com/

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Client: SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby (NZR)
Project: Commercial platform
Agency: Wildpigs and Coppin + Company
Role: Consultant Creative Director and Art Director
Team: Billy Johnson, Tim Fox, Tony Coppin
Date: 2025
Region: South Africa, New Zealand and Global