End for Newlands

It's been nine years between All Black visits to Cape Town and this weekend's Rugby Championship fixture against the Springboks could be the last at Newlands.

It's a matter of time before Western Province Rugby moves to Cape Town Stadium in Green Point and, though that might be years off, it's unlikely the old stadium will see the All Blacks again.

From 2020 SA Rugby will have full say in nominating where Springbok Test matches are played. By taking away the "right" to host Tests from provincial unions, SA Rugby will schedule big Bok matches in stadiums of their choice. Which could include the US.

It is no secret SA Rugby prefers world-class Cape Town Stadium. In their Rugby World Cup 2023 bid book, Newlands is not on the fixture list.

"The Test rugby calendar has been set until 2032 so we know who and where we are going to play with the exception of matches against tier-two nations," SA Rugby chief executive officer Jurie Roux said on April6 this year.

"That gives us the chance to now allocate Tests for 14 years and today we ratified a big constitutional change which gives SA Rugby control of Test matches.

"We can now take big Tests overseas if it makes commercial sense, and we can decide where to host Test matches locally. But it will be done through those committees - the franchise [professional] and non-franchise [non-professiona], which do have provincial representation."

There were security and safety issues that WP needed to address for the stadium to obtain a compliance certificate from the City of Cape Town. They eventually met them, but it sent out a negative signal about the ageing stadium's suitability for high-profile matches.

This weekend will be the 10th Test between the Springboks and All Blacks at Newlands, with the visitors having won six of the previous nine and three of four in the professional era. Only Ellis Park, with 14, has hosted more in South Africa.

There have been two matches at the National Stadium in Soweto.

In 48 home Tests against New Zealand, the Boks have won 25 and the All Blacks 22 with one draw, but Newlands has not been a stronghold for the home team. If it is to be the last Test between the sides at the ground, the Boks have extra motivation for trying to make it a good send-off.

The last time they met at Newlands the All Blacks won 19-0 in 2008.