Why the All Blacks are happy to play the Springboks in Cape Town

Cape Town locals who complain that nine years is too long a wait for an All Blacks Test may need to look at their Pretoria pals in terms of patience.

The administrative capital city hasn't hosted New Zealand since 2006 and there's reason why.

South Africa hasn't beaten New Zealand in Pretoria in the professional era with the last win coming in 1970.

Cape Town itself hasn't been friendly to South Africa against the All Blacks in the professional era and the matches below serve as the explanation.

August 16‚ 2008 South Africa 0 – 19 New Zealand

This was the first time the Springboks were kept scoreless at home by the All Blacks and a New Zealand side intent on avenging their first loss at Carisbrook against the Boks made sure they nailed all their basics.

Tries from Conrad Smith‚ Daniel Carter and Keven Mealamu didn't do justice to the All Blacks' powerful performance.

Carter had an ordinary day with the boot‚ with only two successful kicks out of seven that would have made the score look worse than it probably was.

It was clear the Boks had yet to clear the mist from their heady night in Dunedin a few weeks earlier and the All Blacks made them pay.

August 6‚ 2006 South Africa 22 – 16 New Zealand

Tries by Jean de Villiers and Rico Gear were the standout moments of what was a tightly contested encounter.

After the horrors of the Rudolph Straeuli era‚ this was the Boks second consecutive win against the All Blacks.

It may have come at home but under Jake White‚ the Boks had found a way of beating the All Blacks‚ even if it meant letting the All Blacks do most of the playing.

The Boks were reliant on rock-solid defence and set-piece excellence the current crop would do well to emulate.

Then again‚ this was a team that contained a number of players who were to play a crucial role in the annexation of the William Webb Ellis trophy some two years later.

July 21‚ 2001 South Africa 3 – 12 New Zealand

The fact this game is difficult to find on YouTube tells you everything you need to know about the forgettable nature of this opening Tri-Nations clash.

With the conditions resembling a regular summer's day in Dunedin with lashing rain and wind‚ it was fitting that a Highlanders man in Tony Brown slotted the four penalties that separated the teams.

The Boks were slowly on the decline and started to show the cracks that would see them fail to beat the All Blacks for another three years home and away as a young Butch James and the then eccentric Percy Montgomery had forgettable nights from the kicking tee.

August 10‚ 1996 South Africa 18 – 29 New Zealand

How the Boks contrived to lose this game from an 18-6 advantage is still a matter of debate.

What this game is famous for is the fact that it was Francois Pienaar's last appearance in a Springboks jersey.

It was the first of four matches that not only combined the Tri-Nations‚ but the historic All Black tour of that year where Sean Fitzpatrick became the first New Zealand captain to win a series in South Africa.

Such was the class of the 1996 All Blacks that they went up the coast to Durban to beat the Boks before clinching the series in Pretoria.

The Boks lead 15-6 at half-time through tries from Japie Mulder and Os du Randt before the inexplicable meltdown as tries from Olo Brown and Glen Osborne alongside five Andrew Merhtens penalties sunk Andre Markgraaf's side.

September 4‚ 1976 South Africa 15 – 10 New Zealand

This was the third test of a four-match series in what was New Zealand's last tour of South Africa before their appearance in 1992.

This series was famous for the number of All Black players with Maori origin who were given “honorary white” status.

Cape Town had to wait for just under 20 years before their next All Black Test.