Rugby’s new-look Nations Championship was launched on Monday with northern and southern hemisphere countries pitted against each other in two separate windows in July and November 2026 before a weekend of finals matches in London.
The long-anticipated announcement has come three years after the competition was first mooted to replace the traditional mid-year tours that northern hemisphere teams make to countries in the south and then the other way round in November.
The new competition, designed to give more purpose to the Test schedule, will conclude with a finals weekend from November 28-30 at Twickenham in London where all 12 nations will chase a placing.
The deciding clash will be between the top-ranked northern and southern hemisphere sides.
It will start in July with Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand and SA all hosting three matches against European opposition and then travelling north in November to play three away games in England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
Points will be awarded for each result — four for a win, two for a draw and a bonus point for scoring four tries or more or losing by less than eight points — which will then determine the pairings for the finals weekend at end-November.
Instead of a series of Tests in one country, as is usually the case for the European teams on their mid-year tours, they now face a daunting travel schedule in July with England, for example, scheduled to play in SA, Fiji and Argentina on successive weekends.
It has been speculated, however, that Fiji will host their matches on neutral ground where the gate takings would be a boost to their coffers while easing the travel demands on their opponents. The BBC said on Monday Fiji would host their clash against England in SA.
The cross-hemisphere competition is to be played every two years, so will not interfere with a Rugby World Cup or a British & Irish Lions tour.
The Six Nations is also not affected, but the Rugby Championship between Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and SA now moves to every two years.
New Zealand are instead going to tour SA in August and September 2026 for four Tests and four matches against franchise teams in a resurrection of the traditional tour schedule long since abandoned.
New Zealand and SA are marketing their clash as “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” and will look to continue it every four years with the Springboks going to New Zealand in 2030.
World Rugby is to create a second division tournament called the Nations Cup to feature the 12 teams who have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and are not competing in the Nations Championship. They are Canada, Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Tonga, Uruguay, the US, Zimbabwe and either Belgium or Samoa.
Those details, however, have not been announced nor has it been confirmed there might be a promotion and relegation between the two new competitions from 2030 onwards.
Fixtures
Southern Series
July 4-5: Argentina vs Scotland, Australia vs Ireland, Fiji vs Wales, Japan vs Italy, New Zealand vs France, SA vs England
July 11-12: Argentina vs Wales, Australia vs France, Fiji vs England, Japan vs Ireland, New Zealand vs Italy, SA vs Scotland
July 18-19: Argentina vs England, Australia vs Italy, Fiji vs Scotland, Japan vs France, New Zealand vs Ireland, SA vs Wales
Northern Series
November 7-8: England vs Australia, France vs Fiji, Ireland vs Argentina, Italy vs SA, Scotland vs New Zealand, Wales vs Japan
November 14-15: England vs Japan, France vs SA, Ireland vs Fiji, Italy vs Argentina, Scotland vs Australia, Wales vs New Zealand
November 21-22: England vs New Zealand, France vs Argentina, Ireland vs SA, Italy vs Fiji, Scotland vs Japan, Wales vs Australia
Finals weekend
November 28-30: North 6 vs South 6, North 5 vs South 5, North 4 vs South 4, North 3 vs South 3, North 2 vs South 2, North 1 vs South 1
Reuters
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