Wallabies legend George Gregan pours cold water on Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour

The reintroduction of the traditional tour between the two storied nations was welcomed by those involved, but some who've been left out in the cold are not so impressed. The tour replaces the Rugby Championship every four years, leaving Australia and Argentina to their own devices. 

As luck would have it, the announcement of the quadrennial tour came off the back of a highly competitive 2025 TRC, which ultimately went down to the final game.

Gregan pointed out that the tour is set to take place in the year before a World Cup, which really only aides the Boks and All Blacks.

"So '26 and '30, years directly before World Cups, whose purpose does that serve?" quipped the 1999 Rugby World Cup winner.

"The Rugby Championship is now the Southern Hemisphere's Six Nations. It's taken a long time to get there and, after such a great tournament this year, it would be good to keep the continuity going.

"No-one had a crystal ball [to know how good the 2025 edition would be] when they made the decision to put this old school tour together with four Test matches, which they're calling The Greatest Rivalry.

"But you need to remember, I think, the importance of the Rugby Championship. It's been very, very good for everyone. Look what it's done for Argentina since its inception in 2012. How far they've come in that period of time is unbelievable.”

"My question is: can you imagine the Six Nations Championship being postponed a year because England want to play France instead?"

The All Blacks kick off the new tour with a visit to the Republic in 2026 for no less than eight matches, where they face all four franchises and four Tests against the Boks.