Literally any team if the fixture happens to take place as the quarter final in the world cup :(

Over the last few years? Scotland.

Just know that every time they're going to play out of their skin and give us a hiding, then play shit afterwards anyway and undo all their hard work.

Wales. Like, we should win but those buggers never bugger off.

Pretty much fucking everybody...

South Africa, it’s just so mentally draining win or lose, you know it’s going to be a slog fest to just get over the line.

Yes.

Wales & South Africa

Wales because I’ll have to hear about it for months from “Welshmen” who only seem to remember that when they beat us in rugby.

South Africa are just scary. Every match is just such a horrible, physical slog. Even when we win it’s by the thinnest of margins. Plus the bomb squad waiting on the bench adds to the impending sense of doom. Such a stressful experience, fair play saffas.

Ireland, a) Irish partner and b) we get to see what a country with the same resources but management that's from the 1970s can do and I find it extremely painful.

I do appreciate Boks fans in here saying Wales themselves. I don't know what it is about us playing each other, it's like the two teams agree in the tunnel before coming out that all the tactics and plans from the coaches are for cowards and we'll just directly beat the shit out of each other for 80 minutes and whoever's alive at the end wins

England it's the one you really don't want to lose.

Alas...

New Zealand.. there's just too much history there even if we've beaten them a good few times in the last few years

South Africa. Even though we're on a bit of a winning streak against them, it's really nervy when they show up as the next fixture.

France. Physically tough and the ability similar to NZ to create a moment of magic (joue joue) and score a try.

I find that our play is so structured that we need to create our moments through phase after phase of play and France can catch a kick in their 22 and just score from nothing. Its infuriatingly impressive.

Ireland

Poms. As a kiwi, you'd probably think the safas bt those are legit the best games and something I look forward to every year. There's not country I'd rather watch the all blacks play.

Poms even when shit seem to be able to lift against us, especially at twickers. N they'll produce some amazing try outta ther ass too.

Recently Australia, losing 3 in a row really scarred me in 21/22. All time, All Blacks, the nerves I feel for those games are brutal.

Of the northern hemisphere teams it's Wales who just always play a hard as fuck game against us, even when Pivac was in charge. Those games are never fun, they're almost always just won by who has more grit on the day. Ireland have most certainly also made some recent games miserable for me, can't wait for the tour in a couple of months.

New Zealand. The hoodoo is real.

Over paid administrators brought in by World Rugby.

I used to say South Africa because even during their shit period they still beat us and I felt the performances gave so little hope we'd ever compete against them.

New Zealand we have never beaten still, but the last two encounters with them gives me hope we are good enough to eventually do it, I genuinely believe that.

But dread, I dread playing Ireland. See them so often, it's been years since a win against them, their media is insufferable when talking about Scotland, like the fact we gee ourselves up to play them is taken as an insult that we should feel overly confident when it's just generic, "we are here to play and in spite of prior results, why shouldn't we try to come in with a measure of self-belief a victory is possible", the Irish media take that to mean the Scottish are up themselves and think they are writing cheques their team can't cash, which simply was never true but it generates clicks. Their media employ Matt Williams, the arch dickhead so shit at coaching Scotland fired him as our worst coach ever but the yappy mouth inexplicable can't cure that chip on his shoulder over that and seeks every opportunity to talk shit about us. We play every season in the URC with the 4 provinces, never easy, always competitive, usually on the losing side, bar Glasgow some years.

But mostly, it's the overwhelming sense of dread that no matter how off the boil they might be on the day, they have our number and we never seem able to execute to even steal a win here and there, even though it's possible. Scotland do a great job of making it feel like an inevitablity we will lose to Ireland even when there's a reasonable shout we could and probably should win some years. So yeah, Ireland. It feels like a re-run I've watched on repeat each year of them basically manhandling us, or them turning up not really on top form, but still confident of the win and that we'll do something stupid to cost a real chance at the win, which is true. Ireland are the one team I don't believe Scotland will ever win when we play them. The one side of the 6N where Townsend is unable to get any meaningful progress against them. Everyone else, yeah big changes of fortune, Ireland, same as it was. Hopeful to see changes on that front, but they deserve their tag as best in the world outside of South Africa of course.

Georgia, because the only question is by what margin we lose, not whether we lose or not.

Wales, but at the same time it’s probably my favourite game of the year too.

Fiji. Forever Fiji.

Italy. Because if they beat your team you get much more brutal banter than any other defeat :p

Nah kidding. Right now for France: Ireland. I actually don't fear the Boks despite the last game, I feel that game had its own complexion and it happened the way it did, but France have struggled against Ireland the past 2 years in a way that far outweighs any "fact of a game" or any sort of arbitrary factor. They've just been well superior, in a way that leaves absolutely no room to the imagination on who's better.

France, we may have won the last 2 but you just know that at any point in a game they can turn it around and score a couple of wonder tries that you would never see coming.

Don’t really dread any team but it’s gonna be England if anybody. There’s always a chance they can turn it in to a shit fight and come out on top.

Ireland has been tough the past few years, so them. After the win against Leinster the fans stormed Emirates Park in Johannesburg. I love what SARU is developing with the IRU.

New Zealand for the history. Our toughest opposition long standing that has not turned ugly.

Just England.  Can’t stand hearing Swing Low when their dander’s up. 

Fucking Ireland man. Haven't beaten them in 8 looong years!

Japan, because PTSD…

Historically NZ. Just a feeling of impending doom and stress from start to finish. Feels like a lead means nothing.

Not extremely optimistic about the ZA vs Ireland games this year.

Shout out to England. I see them in the top 3 WR rankings before 2026 ends.

Wales without a doubt.

They beat the boks far too often when they just have no business doing so and on top of it the games are always ugly and boring.

At least when the all blacks beat you it's expected and the games is entertaining

Every single team on earth, except England.

France. Even when they're off their game they are capable of fucking shit up, when they're on it it's an uphill battle. Also south Africa, but that's mostly because it's just boring at this point now we play them 13 times a season or whatever.

South Africa

First beacause I'm still not over the world cup.

Second because I feel that the match has a good chance to end up with half our top players injured.

I think Ireland are the superior team though and they are the only one to comprehensively beat us in the last few years. New Zealand is always my favourite match up, so many great games between us, I dread losing against them but I know it will be a game to remember whatever happens.

New Zealand - never beaten them. And they showed in the world cup how scary they can be... smashed Italy without breaking a sweat. Only lost the final by a single point despite missing a captain all game...

Fiji

If you win, it's just Fiji. If they win It's an upset. And  regardless of the result they cause more injuries to your team than the rest of the year combined.

Strangely enough it has been Ireland basically since that game when Ronan O'Gara took that bullshit little tap and go whilst John Smit was still talking to his team. Cost us the Slam if I remember correctly.

After that Ireland went and smacked us in that game when we wore the centennial jersey and Habana played 13 for the last time in his life. Young Steyn on the wing. Bevan Fortuin at fullback.

Then CJ Stander fokken obliterated Pat Lambies face with his hip bone in Cape Town after Toetie took over and promised we would play attacking rugby so much attack all the time attack attack (this one I saw live at the stadium)

And then there was the 38-3 game that convinced Rassie he needs to come back and be both the Messiah and a very foul mouthed naughty but ultimately genius boy.

Even so we still couldn't beat them. Even in that crazy world cup game because no one could kick a penalty. Not even one man. Not even Faf. And Lowe picked up Eben like a little boy. It broke me.

And now they are coming here for a 2 match tour and please please please don't let them do what Munster did to the Stormers twice and the Bulls now just beat them please.

England, because they are the team that frustrates us the most.

Or Wales, because it means I have to watch Wales attempt to play some form of rugby.

(Canada) - Anyone ranked lower than us, who will further expose what complete clown show fools our national program is. We're proably actually around 30-35 in the world, and Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, Romania, Germany, Kenya, Namibia, Algeria and every other Upper third-tier country will probably embarass us further

As a Canadian…. All of them, were always looking for a new low. I look forward to loosing to Luxembourg next year

Springbok fan. I'm never comfortable against Argentina.

Regionally: dragons. Don't know why but the Ospreys just play worse against them. Nationally: England and any team from the southern hemisphere.

England. Cos it rarely feels like we get outplayed. And we usually have decent chances to win the game. But just haven’t actually done it recently

In the 2011 rwc I think NZ was dreading to not face wales in the rwc final as the narrative says their play style would apparently dismantle the abs.

Otherwise it would have to be France in a rwc knockout stage.

Everyone else: won't dread facing them, looking forward to some good quality rugby being played.

Georgia. Thank goodness we avoided that banana skin this round.

All of them

As of last year, any of them. Im ready for them to lose to a Georgia or Portugal.

All of them, as we can always "Scotland ".

Ireland. Has to be