Rugby’s new Nations Championship explained - and why you should care
Updated . First published
The opening game of the inaugural Nations Championship will also mark Dave Rennie’s debut as All Blacks coach as New Zealand host France in a blockbuster.
Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium sold out in just four hours for Saturday’s highly anticipated clash between two of the competition favourites.
Ardie Savea speaks to media at Feilding Yellows Rugby Club. Hagen Hopkins
The All Blacks also have a new captain, with inspirational loose forward Ardie Savea replacing the injured Scott Barrett.
Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell will then resume their unique coaching rivalry as the Wallabies and Ireland clash at a sold-out Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
Australia mentor Schmidt used to be Farrell’s boss with Ireland and the pair also locked horns during last year’s British and Irish Lions tour.
Schmidt will bow out as Wallabies coach after the three July Tests in the Nations Championship, handing the reins to another former Ireland assistant in Les Kiss.
Wallabies stalwart Tom Wright is a fan of the new tournament format, in which Australia will also play three November Tests in the United Kingdom before the finals weekend in London.
“If I put my spectator hat on... my family, for instance, can now follow the calendar season a lot more easily,” Wright said.
“There’s something to refer to after a weekend of games. You can see who’s sitting in which slot, southern vs northern standings.
“By the end of the calendar season... you’re playing for a little bit more. Since I’ve come into the Wallabies (in 2020), you play each little block for what it is, and maybe you don’t get to piece them together as nicely.
“From a fan’s perspective, I know my family have already noted, it will certainly be a little bit easier to follow. We play for each other, but the people that watch us, it’s really important that they can follow, which is nice...
“This is an awesome new format for us.”
What is the Nations Championship, and how will it work?
The Nations Championship is a new competition featuring 12 of the world’s elite rugby teams, and will be played every two years.
The Six Nations teams - France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Italy - will represent the northern hemisphere in one section.
The southern hemisphere will be represented by the four Rugby Championship teams: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina.
The Rugby Championship will not be played in 2026 but the Bledisloe Cup between the Wallabies and All Blacks will be contested as usual.
The Rugby Championship teams will be joined in the southern bracket by Fiji and Japan, who sit just above the equator.
Each team will play six Nations Championship Tests to determine the rankings for the finals weekend.
Rounds 1-3 of the single round-robin format kick off in July as the northern teams travel south to play the first three rivals.
Rounds 4-6, hosted in November, sees the south head north to play the other three teams across Europe, completing the round-robin format.
Every match matters with points earned feeding into the finals weekend seedings.
How does the finals weekend work?
After six rounds of competition, teams are ranked within their hemisphere grouping from first to sixth.
All teams then head to London’s Twickenham for the finals weekend.
Finals weekend sees the sixth placed northern team play the sixth placed southern team, the fifth placed northern team play the fifth placed southern team and so on - all the way to the first vs first grand final.
The best nation and dominant hemisphere will therefore be decided in three double headers across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
What is Australia’s 2026 Nations Championship schedule?
Wallabies vs Ireland, 8:00pm AEST on Saturday, July 4 at Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Wallabies vs France, 5:30pm AEST on Saturday, July 11 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Wallabies vs Italy, 6:00pm AWST on Saturday, July 18 at HBF Park, Perth
Wallabies vs England, 2:10am AEDT on Monday, November 9 at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London
Wallabies vs Scotland, 2:10am AEDT on Monday, November 16 at Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Wallabies vs Wales, 7:10am AEDT on Sunday, November 22, Principality Stadium, Cardiff
What is the full 2026 Nations Rugby Championship schedule?
JULY 2026 (SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SERIES) *All Times AEST/AEDT
Round one
Saturday, July 4
New Zealand v France, One NZ Stadium, Christchurch (5:10 pm)
Japan v Italy, Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo (6:40 pm)
Australia v Ireland, Allianz Stadium, Sydney (8:10 pm)
Fiji v Wales, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff (11:10 pm)
Sunday, July 5
South Africa v England, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (1:40 am)
Argentina v Scotland, Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba (5:10 am)
Round two
Saturday, July 11
New Zealand v Italy, Hnry Stadium, Wellington (3:10 pm)
Australia v France, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (5:40 pm)
Japan v Ireland, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle (8:10 pm)
Fiji v England, Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool (11:10 pm)
Sunday, July 12
South Africa v Scotland, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (1:40 am)
Argentina v Wales, Estadio Bicentenario, San Juan (5:10 am)
Round three
Saturday, July 18
New Zealand v Ireland, Eden Park, Auckland (5:10 pm)
Japan v France, MUFG Stadium, Tokyo (6:40 pm)
Australia v Italy, HBF Park, Perth (8:10 pm)
Fiji v Scotland, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh (11:10 pm)
Sunday, July 19
South Africa v Wales, Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban (1:40 am)
Argentina v England, Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero (5:10 am)
NOVEMBER 2026 (NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SERIES)
Round four
Saturday, November 7
Ireland v Argentina, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (7:10 am)
Italy v South Africa, Allianz Stadium, Turin (10:40 pm)
Sunday, November 8
Scotland v New Zealand, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh (1:10 am)
Wales v Japan, Principality Stadium, Cardiff (3:40 am)
France v Fiji, Groupama Stadium, Lyon (7:10 am)
Monday, November 9
England v Australia, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (2:10 am)
Round five
Saturday, November 14
France v South Africa, Stade de France, Saint-Denis (7:10 am)
Italy v Argentina, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (10:40 pm)
Sunday, November 15
Wales v New Zealand, Principality Stadium, Cardiff (1:10 am)
England v Japan, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (3:40 am)
Ireland v Fiji, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (7:10 am)
Monday, November 16
Scotland v Australia, Scottish Gas Stadium, Edinburgh (2:10 am)
Round six
Sunday, November 22
England v New Zealand, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (1:10 am)
Scotland v Japan, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh (1:10 am)
Ireland v South Africa, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (3:40 am)
Italy v Fiji, Bluenergy Stadium, Udine (3:40 am)
France v Argentina, Stade de France, Saint-Denis (7:10 am)
Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium, Cardiff (7:10 am)
FINALS WEEKEND IN LONDON
Saturday 28 November
Sixth placed North v Sixth placed South (3:40 am)
Third placed North v Third placed South (7:10 am)
Saturday 29 November
Fifth placed North v Fifth placed South (12:10 am)
Second placed North v Second placed South (3:40 am)
Monday 30 November
Fourth placed North v Fourth placed South (12:10 am)
First placed North v First placed South (3:40 am)
Why do we need a Nations Championship?
Rugby has lacked integrated southern and northern calendars and this championship arises as a solution to that.
It also provides fodder for broadcasters, and air miles.
England’s squad will zigzag from Johannesburg, where they will play their first match, to Liverpool, where they will be “hosted” by Fiji and then to Argentina.
Saturday’s Wallabies vs Ireland test in Sydney is a sellout.
At the end of the Joe Schmidt coaching era and near the beginning of the Les Kiss era there seems to be new optimism in Australian rugby.
That’s despite the fact the Wallabies came away winless from their end-of-year tour to Britain last year and Australian teams fell short again in Super Rugby.
“We’ll definitely look to rectify that,” veteran prop Allan Alaalatoa said.
“With the first game being a sellout, it shows that there’s a lot of passion for rugby here in Australia, and it definitely motivates.”
How can I watch the Nations Championship in Australia?
Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match of the Nations Championship live and on demand.
Wallabies matches are also available live on Nine and 9Now.
Wallabies squad
Allan Alaalatoa, Miles Amatosero, Angus Bell, Charlie Cale, Josh Canham, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Josh Nasser, Zane Nonggorr, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Lachlan Shaw, James Slipper, Carlo Tizzano, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Harry Wilson, Jock Campbell, Filipo Daugunu, Ben Donaldson, Josh Flook, Carter Gordon, Len Ikitau, Max Jorgensen, Ryan Lonergan, Tate McDermott, Declan Meredith, Hunter Paisami, Dylan Pietsch, Harry Potter, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Kalani Thomas, Corey Toole, Tom Wright
Ireland squad
Tadhg Beirne, Billy Bohan, Thomas Clarkson, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Sam Illo, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sean Jansen, Rónan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Darragh Murray, Tom O’Toole, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Josh van der Flier, Bundee Aki, Rob Baloucoune, Harry Byrne, Craig Casey, Nathan Doak, Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, Hugo Keenan, Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Sam Prendergast, Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale
Who are the favourites to win the Nations Championship?
As world champions and the world’s No.1 ranked side, South Africa are understandably the clear favourites to win the first edition of this new competition.
Bookmakers have France and New Zealand as the next best shot at the title while you can get juicy odds of $12-$15 on world No.8 Australia.
- additional reporting by AP
