BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore is about to host something rather special.
On Saturday, M&T Bank Stadium — a building normally occupied by heavily padded players in helmets who are afforded regular opportunities to catch their breath — will instead welcome 30 men who will spend 80 minutes running into each other with considerably less protection and even fewer opportunities to stop.
Welcome to rugby — but Baltimore isn't getting just any rugby match.
The New Zealand All Blacks and South African Springboks meet at 5 p.m. Saturday in the fourth and final Test of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, a four-match series between two nations that have spent more than a century trying to establish which is the dominant force in the sport.
South Africa leads the series 2-1 after beating New Zealand 29-24 in front of nearly 86,000 people in Johannesburg on Saturday. The Springboks can claim the series with another victory in Baltimore; an All Blacks win would tie it 2-2.
For anyone in Maryland who has wondered what all the fuss is about, there could hardly be a better introduction.
Rugby and American football share some ancestry and an inconveniently shaped ball. Beyond that, things become very different, very quickly.
Each team has 15 players (plus eight substitutes who will absolutely be used) and two 40-minute halves. No separate offensive and defensive units trot on and off the field. The same enormous human being who makes a tackle may then be expected seconds later to get back to his feet, sprint downfield and carry the ball.
And no, they don't wear helmets or shoulder pads. Play doesn't stop after every tackle, either. The ball remains contestable, play continues, and each team converges over it in what is known as a ruck before it is fired back out and the whole process starts again.
The ball can be kicked forward but must be passed backward. Get it across the opponent's goal line and physically ground it and you've scored a five-point try, followed by the opportunity for a two-point conversion.
Then there are scrums, lineouts, mauls and enough peculiar terminology to fill another story. But don't worry about understanding it all on Saturday. Watch for five minutes and you'll get the general idea.
Before the game even begins, Baltimore will witness one of the most breathtaking traditions in international sport when the All Blacks perform the haka.
Far more than the intimidating pregame spectacle it can seem, the haka is a powerful expression of Māori culture and New Zealand's fierce pride in its Indigenous heritage. It represents identity, unity, strength, and respect, and has become inseparable from the All Blacks and how they represent their country on the world stage.
And there really is nothing quite like watching it. As the New Zealand players assemble, the stadium falls quiet and the first Māori words ring out, the atmosphere changes completely. What follows is raw, emotional and extraordinarily powerful — particularly when directly opposite them stands an opponent with the history, stature and sheer physical presence of South Africa.
If you've only ever seen the haka in clips online, Saturday offers the chance to experience the real thing. It is 100 percent guaranteed to give you tingles down your spine.
These aren't merely two very good rugby teams. Between them, South Africa and New Zealand have won seven of the 10 Rugby World Cups staged since the tournament began in 1987. The Springboks have won a record four, including the last two; New Zealand has won three. The 2023 World Cup final was, naturally, South Africa against New Zealand. The Springboks won 12-11.
Saturday's meeting comes after three bruising Tests in South Africa. New Zealand won the opener 33-16 before South Africa responded with 33-26 and 29-24 wins.
The Springboks bring captain Siya Kolisi, the imposing Eben Etzebeth and a forward pack built to turn rugby matches into tests of structural integrity. New Zealand still possesses the speed and attacking invention for which the All Blacks are famous, although captain Ardie Savea will miss Baltimore after dislocating his shoulder in Johannesburg.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie says his team must combine that attacking flair with a "hard edge" against South Africa's formidable physical game. New Zealand has scored 13 tries across the first three Tests but has been punished by the Springbok scrum.
In other words, this should be a belter.
More than 70,000 fans are expected at the home of the Baltimore Ravens, and the Baltimore City Department of Transportation is warning residents and visitors to expect heavy traffic, limited parking and large crowds around downtown Saturday.
Traffic modifications begin around noon and are expected to remain in place until approximately 1 a.m. Sunday.
The northbound Russell Street Service Drive alongside the stadium will close between West and Hamburg streets, while temporary closures and special traffic patterns will affect the Hamburg Street and Ostend Street bridges and Warner Street. Additional traffic controls will be introduced around Hamburg, Hanover, Henrietta, Alluvion, Worcester and Bayard streets as fans leave the stadium.
DOT is urging spectators to use public transportation where possible, including MARC Train, Light Rail, Metro Subway, local buses and the free Charm City Circulator. Drivers without official stadium parking passes are advised to use commercial garages and surface lots rather than surrounding residential neighborhoods. The inconvenience may be considerable.
But Baltimore is getting something considerable in return: two giants of international sport, seven World Cups between them, one of rugby's defining rivalries and 80 minutes to settle the final chapter of an extraordinary series.
If you've never watched rugby before, Saturday would be a very good time to start, as next year is the World Cup in host country Australia, and the US is hosting the very next tournament in 2031.
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