Is Nations Championship in 2026 a bold new era for rugby with 'genuine global relevance'?

Much of the rugby world is lamenting that the Springboks will not meet England in the current November Test window, as they have emerged as the two best sides in the world currently.

Ireland might have something to say about that when they meet the Boks in Dublin this weekend, while Argentina will be out to prove that England aren’t as good as we think they are, despite the Red Roses beating the All Blacks 33-19 last week.

But as it stands now, a match between England and South Africa would be the unofficial “world’s best team” decider if it were played this weekend.

Unfortunately, that won’t happen. Fortunately, the new Nations Championship pits England against the Boks in a blockbuster opening weekend in July 2026.

The fixtures and format of the 2026 Nations Championship were finally confirmed by World Rugby this week, more than two years after the organisation revealed plans for the tournament in Paris.

In case you were unaware, the Nations Championship is a competition featuring 12 teams from the northern and southern hemispheres played in one calendar year.

It’s a joint venture between South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby (Sanzaar) and the Six Nations. Matches will be played in the two existing Test windows in July and November.

The four Sanzaar nations — South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina — plus invitational teams Japan and Fiji, will represent the southern hemisphere in the new competition.

They will play against the Six Nations teams, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

The idea behind it was to give the current July and November Test windows more meaning as they will all count towards winning the Nations Championship.

There is a “Finals Series” at Twickenham on the last weekend in November 2026 to crown the winner between the best Sanzaar team and the best Six Nations team.

But. There is always a “but”. While well meaning, there are some flaws. Japan are lumped into the southern hemisphere when geographically the country sits 6,500km north of the equator.

Wales are included as a Six Nations member, despite a world ranking one position lower than Georgia at present.

World Rugby did reveal plans for a second tier “World Rugby Nations Cup”, but there were no details about potential promotion and relegation in the future. This is despite initial indications in 2023 when the concept was unveiled, that there would be promotion and relegation, to allow the likes of Georgia to compete. It seems to be off the table for now.

Tough schedule

The Boks have the luxury of playing at home for the opening rounds. England, by contrast, meet the Boks, then play Fiji at a neutral venue, believed to be Loftus Versfeld, before going on to Argentina to play the Pumas in Buenos Aires.

They will traverse approximately 28,000km in three weeks and cross multiple time zones.  

The same will apply to other northern hemisphere sides, adding to the difficulty.

Also, the Finals Weekend will see several meaningless matches for neutral fans, with a situation, say, of Wales playing Japan in London for 11th and 12th place.

That game would attract an audience in Tokyo or Cardiff, but won’t really get the juices flowing for a neutral crowd.

Luckily, Twickenham and London will have a sizeable group of rugby followers from most nations, but what when the Nations Championship Finals series moves to Los Angeles or Riyadh? How many neutral fans will travel then?

To be fair to World Rugby, Sanzaar and the Six Nations though, it is an attempt to shake the sport up and at least add more meaning to the July and November fixtures.

“The Nations Championship has the power to redefine the future of rugby, and the partnership between Six Nations Rugby and Sanzaar signals a tectonic shift in the sport,” said Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison. 

“Rugby’s strongest nations have collaborated with a clear vision to grow the game, by challenging traditional ways of operating to create a tournament structure with genuine global relevance, which will unlock the true value of the sport.

“The world’s biggest and best championships are defined by intense sporting drama, and the Nations Championship will stand alongside these. The Finals Weekend will add a totally new dimension for fans, and promises to create an incredible spectacle, crown champions, and act as a catalyst to grow rugby’s reach, globally.

“By bringing together the best teams and players in the sport and injecting another layer to the fierce cross-hemisphere rivalries, the Nations Championship will take international rugby to new heights.”

Boks vs England

As luck would have it, the draw has thrown up an opening weekend featuring the Springboks and England to be played in South Africa.

That will be a tough assignment for Rassie Erasmus and his men, considering they are unlikely to have played together in eight months by next July.

The Boks’ 29 November 2025 Test against Wales in Cardiff is their last scheduled Test before meeting England in round one of the Nations Championship on 4 July 2026.

England, by contrast, would have come through an entire 2026 Six Nations tournament before clashing with the Boks.

Erasmus is never one to sit back and wait though, and he will almost certainly try to arrange a match before the England showdown, just as he did with the Barbarians in June this year.

Home Tests against Scotland (11 July) and Wales (18 July) follow, after meeting England, to complete the first round of the Nations Championship.

There is no Rugby Championship in 2026, as South Africa and New Zealand resume full tours for the first time in 30 years when the All Blacks tour from late August to early October 2026.

The return round of the Nations Championship follows in November in which the Boks will need to be primed to face Italy, France and Ireland away from home again.

After that, there is a “finals weekend” at Twickenham from 27-29 November as the top-ranked team from the Six Nations meets the top team from the Sanzaar group.

The Nations Championship won’t take place in 2027 as it’s a Rugby World Cup year, with a full Rugby Championship also on the schedule.

In 2028, the Nations Championship schedule will be reversed, with France, Ireland and Italy coming to South Africa, while the Boks will face England, Scotland and Wales in the United Kingdom. DM

Nations Championship schedule

Southern Hemisphere Rounds

Round One — 4 July

🇳🇿 New Zealand vs 🇫🇷 France

🇦🇺 Australia vs 🇮🇪 Ireland

🇯🇵 Japan vs 🇮🇹 Italy

🇫🇯 Fiji vs  🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Wales

🇿🇦 South Africa vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

🇦🇷 Argentina vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

Round Two — 11 July

🇳🇿 New Zealand vs 🇮🇹 Italy

🇦🇺 Australia vs 🇫🇷 France

🇯🇵 Japan vs 🇮🇪 Ireland

🇫🇯 Fiji vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

🇿🇦 South Africa vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland

🇦🇷 Argentina vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

Round Three — 18 July

🇯🇵 Japan vs 🇫🇷 France

🇳🇿 New Zealand vs 🇮🇪 Ireland

🇦🇺 Australia vs 🇮🇹 Italy

🇫🇯 Fiji vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿  Scotland

🇿🇦 South Africa vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales

🇦🇷 Argentina vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿  England

Northern Hemisphere Rounds

Round Four — 6-8 November

🇮🇪 Ireland vs 🇦🇷 Argentina

🇮🇹 Italy vs 🇿🇦 South Africa

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland vs 🇳🇿 New Zealand

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Wales vs 🇯🇵 Japan

🇫🇷 France vs 🇫🇯 Fiji

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England vs 🇦🇺 Australia

Round Five — 13-15 November

🇫🇷 France vs 🇿🇦 South Africa

🇮🇹 Italy vs 🇦🇷 Argentina

 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Wales vs 🇳🇿 New Zealand

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England vs 🇯🇵 Japan

🇮🇪 Ireland vs 🇫🇯 Fiji

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland vs 🇦🇺 Australia

Round Six — 21 November

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England vs 🇳🇿 New Zealand

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland vs 🇯🇵 Japan

🇮🇪 Ireland vs 🇿🇦 South Africa

🇮🇹 Italy vs 🇫🇯 Fiji

🇫🇷 France vs 🇦🇷 Argentina

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Wales vs 🇦🇺 Australia

Finals Weekend

Friday, 27 November

Sixth place north vs sixth place south

Third place north vs third place south

Saturday, 28 November

 Fifth place north vs fifth place south

 Second place north vs second place south

Sunday, 29 November

🥉 Fourth place north vs fourth place south

🏆 First place north vs first place south