2026 Nations Championship Fixtures Announced

What is the Nations Championships 2026?

The 2026 Nations Championship marks the beginning of a brand-new era for international rugby, bringing together the best from the northern and southern hemispheres in one structured, high-stakes global competition. Instead of the usual mix of summer tours and autumn Tests, this revamped format creates a unified tournament where each team plays three matches in July and three in November, before the final rankings decide who meets in a dramatic north-v-south showdown on Finals Weekend. Designed to give test rugby more purpose, more intensity and more blockbuster match-ups, the Nations Championship promises a season filled with meaningful fixtures, fierce rivalries and a level of global competition we’ve never seen on this scale before.

Who is playing in the 2026 Nations Championships?

The brand-new Nations Championships brings together twelve of the world’s top rugby sides, split into two powerhouse groups. In the Southern Hemisphere pool, you’ll find England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales – six iconic nations ready to take on the globe.

Lining up against them in the Northern Hemisphere pool are Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Fiji, creating a blockbuster clash of styles, talent and rugby heritage. With every nation bringing its own flavour and fire, this inaugural competition promises wall-to-wall drama, huge rivalries and world-class rugby from round one!

When are the fixtures?

The inaugural Nations Championship is packed with unmissable match-ups across July and November. Here’s a clear breakdown of when each round takes place:

🗓️ Saturday 4th July 2026

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

🗓️ Saturday 11th July 2026

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

🗓️ Saturday 18th July 2026

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

🗓️ Friday 6th – Sunday 8th November 2026

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

🗓️ Friday 13th – Sunday 15th November 2026

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

🗓️ Saturday 21 November 2026

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

Finals Weekend

🗓️ Friday 27th November 2026

• Sixth-place North v Sixth-place South
• Third-place North v Third-place South

🗓️Saturday 28th November 2026

• Fifth-place North v Fifth-place South
• Second-place North v Second-place South

🗓️Sunday 29th November 2026

• Fourth-place North v Fourth-place South
• First-place North v First-place South

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How does it work?

There will be two sets of trans-equatorial clashes in the new Nations Championship, with three rounds of fixtures hosted in the southern hemisphere in July and another three played in the northern hemisphere in November.

Each team faces all six opponents from the opposite hemisphere once. When those matches are complete, both hemispheres create their own internal tables, ranking their teams from first to sixth.

The tournament then builds to a finals weekend in London. It starts with the sixth-placed teams from each hemisphere going head-to-head, working up the rankings until the top northern side meets the top southern side in a blockbuster title decider. Every result from finals weekend will also feed into an overall North v South scoreline – adding extra spice to the rivalry.

World Rugby also plans to introduce a “second division” of the competition. While it won’t feature promotion or relegation, the aim is to give emerging rugby nations – including Georgia, Spain, Uruguay, Samoa, Tonga and the United States – more regular fixtures against top-tier sides in the years when the main Nations Championship is not being played.

Find out everything you need to know about the Rugby Championship by reading our ‘Ultimate Guide to: The Rugby Championship‘, where we take a deeper dive into the history of the tournament, each teams’ all-time records, team profiles and more!

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