rugbys

One point.

That is what separated South Africa and New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, as the Springboks went back-to-back to become the first nation to win the tournament four times.

Rassie Erasmus’ world champions sit top of the rankings and have also won back-to-back Rugby Championships. They are indisputably the game’s dominant force.

Their predecessors as rugby union’s supreme team were the All Blacks, who won their own back-to-back World Cups, in 2011 and 2015.

The landscape may have changed and their roles may have reversed of late, but they remain the game’s most glamourous and marketable teams.

And now they are poised to begin that most rare of modern phenomenons – a multi-week tour that includes a proper Test series.

This year’s Rugby Championship – the southern hemisphere’s premier international competition – has been cancelled to make room for the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa, leaving Australia and Argentina to arrange their own fixtures.

The first Test is on Saturday, when Dave Rennie – just three Tests into his reign as New Zealand coach – takes his side into the first of three Tests in South Africa as part of what has been dubbed the ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour.

A fourth game – not part of the official series – will also be played in Baltimore, marking the first Test between the two long-time rivals on American soil.

Within an increasingly competitive sporting landscape, BBC Sport looks at why the tour is happening and what it could mean for the future of international rugby union.

SC Villa captain and Ugandan international David Owori was found unconscious by passers-by, but later pronounced dead.

Uganda international ‌David Owori, captain of one of the country’s ⁠biggest football clubs, ⁠has died after an assault in the capital Kampala, police said.

The 28-year-old, who was captain of Uganda’s record-breaking champions SC Villa, was ⁠critically injured by unidentified assailants in a suburb of Kampala on Tuesday, police spokesperson Racheal Kawala said.

His death comes only weeks after the killing of Rugby international Sydney Gongodyo in the Ugandan capital.

Owori was found unconscious ⁠by passers-by, who took him to a nearby hospital. He was transferred to another hospital where he was later pronounced dead, Kawala said.

“David was not just a footballer. He was both a leader ‌and an inspiration to a generation. As Captain of SC Villa, he led with courage, humility and passion. In the Uganda Cranes jersey, he carried the hopes of a nation,” the Federation of Uganda Football Associations said in a statement.

Crime is rampant in the capital of the East ⁠African country and many Ugandans expressed outrage ⁠at his death on X. They also condemned what some said was the inability of the authorities to tackle crime.

Owori’s death follows that of Gongodyo’s, who in June died after he was assaulted by a ⁠mob in Kampala after he was apparently ⁠mistaken for a thief, according to police.

“Sadly, Ugandan sport has been hit with many such tragedies lately, and we hope for justice and a lasting solution,” ‌the state-run National Council of Sports Uganda said.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa asked authorities to address the wider security challenges in ‌the ‌country, according to a statement on parliament’s website.

SC Villa extended a 20-year wait for the Uganda league title last season, when Owori lifted the trophy as captain.

It was their record-extending 17th Uganda league crown.