Nations
Championship
OVERVIEW
ABOUT
The groundbreaking Nations Championship – a landmark joint venture between SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby to create the new biennial tournament – will see the 12 biggest nations in world rugby colliding in a competitive new tournament that will reshape the future of the global game. The SANZAAR nations – South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina – plus invitational teams Japan and Fiji, will represent the Southern Hemisphere in the new competition, played in the two existing international windows in July and November, against the Six Nations teams, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Following the six rounds, the Nations Championship will culminate in a first-of-its-kind Finals Weekend, which will be hosted at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in London in November 2026. For more information, visit www.nationschampionshiprugby.com.
THE HISTORY
This is how history will be made in the inaugural year for the competition: The two groups will compete in a Northern versus Southern Hemisphere tournament format across six rounds, with three fixtures in July and three more in November, before culminating in the Finals Weekend to decide the dominant nation and balance of power between the rugby hemispheres. After the six rounds, all the teams will be ranked from first to sixth for the Finals Weekend - with six matches taking place across three double-header sessons. Sixth plays sixth, fifth plays fifth, all the way to the Grand Final, when the top team from the South take on the top team from the North. Points are up for grabs from all these matches and at the end, not only the top side will be crowned, but also the winning hemisphere. This means that every point, result and match matters, to every team.
Nations Championship TABLE
Nations Championship TOP PLAYER STATS
