The Hundred Year War is the story of the intense competition between the All Blacks and Springboks over the past 100 years, the games they've played and the battles that have raged from parliaments to the streets.

It's an examination of two cultures brought together by rugby, torn apart by racism, then brought back together to forge a new era of rivalry.

There are heroes and villains on both sides, on and off the field. For every tale of battling the Boks on the highveld or in the mud of a New Zealand winter, there's one of political intrigue, injustice and cowardice. For every try, a clash with police. For every win or loss, a mind changed irreversibly on the game they grew up with.

The test matches played between the two sides defined both the Springboks and All Blacks. They have a saying in South Africa, 'you're not a real Springbok until you've played the All Blacks' - perhaps the greatest sign of respect any opposition side has ever paid the most successful team in the world.

This is a history of the most brutal and relentless rugby ever played, and the century of bitter struggles that have come with it.