What is the Nations Championship?

The Nations Championship is set to become one of the most significant developments in international rugby since the sport turned professional in 1995.

Created by Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR, the new biennial tournament brings together the world’s top rugby nations in a structured Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere format, with rankings and silverware on the line.

The competition is designed to create a unified global rugby calendar that enhances the existing July and November international windows while delivering a true world championship-style format.

A New Global Structure: Europe vs The Rest of the World

At the heart of the Nations Championship is a simple but powerful idea: a split between hemispheres.

• Europe Group: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales
• Rest of the World Group: New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, plus invited nations Japan and Fiji

Each team will play all opponents from the opposite group over the course of the tournament, with fixtures spread across two key windows in July and November. Every match carries points that contribute to group standings, creating meaningful competition in every game.

How the Tournament Works

The competition is structured across multiple rounds, with home and away style tours:

July Window

Each European nation travels south to face three teams from the Rest of the World group. Each fixture contributes to a live points table within both groups.

November Window

The southern hemisphere teams then travel north, completing the reverse set of fixtures against the Six Nations sides.

By the end of these windows, every team will have played each nation from the opposing group once, creating a full competitive dataset to determine rankings.

Finals Weekend: Rugby’s New Showpiece Event

The Nations Championship concludes with a completely new concept in rugby union: Finals Weekend, staged at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

This is not a traditional knockout format. Instead, teams are paired based on their group rankings:

• 1st in Europe vs 1st in Rest of the World
• 2nd vs 2nd
• 3rd vs 3rd
• 4^th vs 4^th
• 5^th vs 5^th
• 6^th vs 6^th

The headline clash between the top-ranked teams determines the overall champion of the tournament, effectively crowning the world’s best international rugby nation.

It creates a festival-style finale featuring six high-stakes matches, bringing together the strongest teams and biggest stars in world rugby.

Full Fixture Schedule: Nations Championship 2026

Round 1 – 4 July 2026

• New Zealand vs France
• Australia vs Ireland
• Japan vs Italy
• Fiji vs Wales
• South Africa vs England
• Argentina vs Scotland

Round 2 – 11 July 2026

• New Zealand vs Italy
• Australia vs France
• Japan vs Ireland
• Fiji vs England
• South Africa vs Scotland
• Argentina vs Wales

Round 3 – 18 July 2026

• Japan vs France
• New Zealand vs Ireland
• Australia vs Italy
• Fiji vs Scotland
• South Africa vs Wales
• Argentina vs England

Round 4 – 6–8 November 2026

• Ireland vs Argentina
• Italy vs South Africa
• Scotland vs New Zealand
• Wales vs Japan
• France vs Fiji
• England vs Australia

Round 5 – 13–15 November 2026

• France vs South Africa
• Italy vs Argentina
• Wales vs New Zealand
• England vs Japan
• Ireland vs Fiji
• Scotland vs Australia

Round 6 – 21 November 2026

• England vs New Zealand
• Scotland vs Japan
• Ireland vs South Africa
• Italy vs Fiji
• France vs Argentina
• Wales vs Australia

Why the Nations Championship Matters

Rather than isolated tours and fragmented windows, it creates a single connected global tournament with real stakes in every match.

Key innovations include:

• A structured global competition between hemispheres
• A points-based system feeding into rankings and finals
• A new Finals Weekend concept to crown a world champion
• Guaranteed fixtures between all top-tier nations
• Inclusion of emerging rugby nations Japan and Fiji

It also sets the stage for future expansion, with proposals already discussed for:

• Growing to 24 teams
• Introducing promotion and relegation
• Strengthening pathways for emerging rugby nations
• Increasing global competitiveness across tiers

The Future of International Rugby

The Nations Championship is being positioned as rugby’s next major evolution, aiming to bring clarity, consistency, and commercial growth to the international calendar.

With global rivalries, structured competition, and a finals spectacle, it offers something the sport has never had before: a true, unified world championship outside of the Rugby World Cup cycle.

You can enjoy the inaugural Nations Championship with a VIP Eventmasters Hospitality Package. Find out more here.