New for Rugby: The Rugby Nations Championship - What Is It?
The 2026 Rugby Nations Championship is a brand-new international tournament that is set to reshape the global rugby calendar as we know it. Whether you follow England's summer tours, the autumn internationals or the Southern Hemisphere's Rugby Championship, this competition changes everything. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the biggest shake-up in international rugby in a generation.
1. What Is the Rugby Nations Championship?
The Nations Championship is World Rugby's new 12-team tournament that pits the giants of northern and southern hemisphere rugby against each other on a more consistent basis. The tournament is designed to align northern and southern hemisphere rugby calendars, guaranteeing high-profile fixtures that add more structure and meaning to the existing international windows.
Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR have redefined the future of international rugby, with the all-new Nations Championship set to debut in July 2026. This biennial, cross-hemisphere competition features 12 of the strongest nations in the sport, battling for a new global crown.
Put simply, it is the match-up that rugby fans have always wanted, and now it has a trophy attached to it.
2. Which Teams Are Involved?
The teams include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, Japan, England, Scotland, Italy, Wales, France and Ireland.
The Northern Hemisphere will be represented by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales — the Six Nations teams — while the Southern Hemisphere group includes South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, along with Fiji and Japan as invitational teams.
Twelve nations, two hemispheres, one champion. The line-up reads like a who's who of world rugby.
3. How Does the Format Work?
The Six Nations teams will form a European group representing the Northern Hemisphere, and take on the SANZAAR nations, plus Japan and Fiji, who form a group nominally representing the Southern Hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere group of teams will travel to play three rounds of fixtures in July, with every team playing a different rival from the opposing Hemisphere group.
The last three rounds of fixtures, plus a Finals Weekend, will be played in the northern hemisphere across four weekends in November.
The Finals Weekend will see each side face off against their respective ranked team. The number-one ranked team in the Northern Hemisphere group plays the number-one ranked team in the Southern Hemisphere group in the final to decide the inaugural Nations Championship winner, held at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Every match counts from the very first whistle in July. There is nowhere to hide.
4. When and Where Does It Kick Off?
The competition kicks off on Saturday 4 July, with Round One fixtures including New Zealand v France, Australia v Ireland, Japan v Italy, Fiji v Wales, South Africa v England and Argentina v Scotland.
England face South Africa at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, before returning for an 'away' fixture against Fiji at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, then travelling to Argentina to face Los Pumas at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero.
England's autumn pool matches at Allianz Stadium include fixtures against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
It is a genuinely global tournament, with Test rugby being played across multiple continents in the same competition.
5. How Often Will It Be Played?
The inaugural Nations Championship begins in July 2026. Subsequent tournaments will be held biennially, in every year that does not feature a men's Rugby World Cup or a British and Irish Lions tour.
That means fans can look forward to the Nations Championship becoming a centrepiece of the international rugby calendar for years to come.
Why It Matters
This is not just a reshuffled fixture list. As CEO of Six Nations Rugby Tom Harrison put it, the Nations Championship has the power to redefine the future of rugby, with the partnership between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR signalling a tectonic shift in the sport — driven by a clear vision to grow the game by challenging traditional ways of operating and creating a tournament structure with genuine global relevance.
For players, it means every international window has something to play for. For fans, it means marquee fixtures that carry real weight. And for the sport itself, it is a step towards a more connected, more competitive global game.
At Gilbert, we have been at the heart of international rugby for over 200 years — and we cannot wait to see the world's best nations go head-to-head in this brilliant new format.
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