Everything you need to know about the new Nations Championships including fixtures, format and more
Nations Championship is international rugby’s newest competition, and is set to add an extra competitive element to men’s summer and autumn internationals.
The bi-annual tournament will combine 12 sides from around the globe in fixtures across the summer and autumn, beginning in July 2026. It will take place in years when there’s no Rugby World Cup and no British & Irish Lions tour.
It will unite the six European teams in the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales), the four Rugby Championship sides (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina), and Fiji and Japan in an attempt to align the global rugby calendar.
Fixtures will be played across the southern and northern hemispheres in July and November, with the finals taking place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham from 27 to 29 November.
Nations Championship 2026: Overview
– Dates: Saturday 4 July – Sunday 29 November, 2026
– Participating teams: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Wales
– TV rights: ITV hold the UK broadcasting rights for the new competition from 2026-2030
Ronan Dunne, co-Chair of the Nations Championship, said: “The Nations Championship, and its introduction into the international rugby calendar, is a transformational moment for the entire sport, and demonstrates the power of collaboration.
“The tournament will bring together the very best from across the game, elevating rugby on a global scale, but its power to alter the sport’s trajectory and usher in a new era of sustained growth stands to be a hallmark of the Nations Championship.”
Japan and Fiji are included despite not being a part of the Six Nations or Rugby Championship.
Maro Itoje’s England will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing Six Nations when their Nations Championship campaign kicks off against South Africa in July (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Brendan Morris, CEO of SANZAAR, said: “We warmly welcome our Pacific neighbours Japan and Fiji into the tournament, as part of our ‘team’. The participating teams are excited, the broadcasters are excited, and the fans are excited, and we very much look forward to July 2026 when it all kicks-off.”
Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison added: “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.”
Below is everything you need to know about the competition.
Nations Championship 2026: Format
Antoine Dupont’s France side kick off their Nations Championship against the All Blacks in New Zealand (Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
The competition will take place once every two years and involve 12 teams. Those sides will be split into two “conferences” of six – one containing the European teams, the other featuring the SANZAAR nations, Fiji and Japan.
There will be three rounds of fixtures played in the southern hemisphere (Japan counts as the southern hemisphere for Nations Championship purposes) in the summer, and three played in the northern hemisphere in the autumn. (Note that Fiji are not playing their southern hemisphere matches at home, having instead decided to play their matches against Wales, England and Scotland in the UK for commercial reasons.)
Each participating nation will face each of the six sides in the other conference – for example, England will play South Africa, Fiji and Argentina this summer, before hosting Australia, Japan and New Zealand in the autumn.
The games will then culminate in a finals weekend, which takes place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in November. Based on league placings in the two conferences, the highest ranked European team will face the best “rest of the world” team in the Nations Championship final in November.
Nations Championship 2026: Fixtures
Can South Africa add the inaugural Nations Championship to a trophy cabinet that already includes the World Cup and the Rugby Championship? (Getty Images)
Southern hemisphere fixtures
Round 1
Saturday 4 July 2026
- New Zealand v France
One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 8.10am BST / 9.10am CET / 9.10am SAST / 5.10pm AEST / 7.10pm NZST / 3.10am EDT / 12.10am PDT - Japan v Italy
Tokyo Chichibuomiya Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 9.40am BST / 10.40am CET / 10.40am SAST / 6.40pm AEST / 8.40pm NZST / 4.40am EDT / 1.40am PDT - Australia v Ireland
Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 11.10am BST / 12.10pm CET / 12.10pm SAST / 8.10pm AEST / 10.10pm NZST / 6.10am EDT / 3.10am PDT - Fiji v Wales
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Kick-off: 2.10pm BST / 3.10pm CET / 3.10pm SAST / 11.10pm AEST / 1.10am NZST (Sunday) / 9.10am EDT / 6.10am PDT - South Africa v England
Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 4.40pm BST / 5.40pm CET / 5.40pm SAST / 1.40am AEST (Sunday) / 3.40am NZST (Sunday) / 11.40am EDT / 8.40am PDT - Argentina v Scotland
Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST / 9.00pm CET / 9.00pm SAST / 5.00am AEST (Sunday) / 7.00am NZST (Sunday) / 3.00pm EDT / 12.00pm PDT
Round 2
Saturday 11 July 2026
- New Zealand v Italy
Hnry Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 6.10am BST / 7.10am CET / 7.10am SAST / 3.10pm AEST / 5.10pm NZST / 1.10am EDT / 10.10pm PDT (Friday) - Australia v France
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 8.30am BST / 9.30pm CET / 9.30pm SAST / 5.30pm AEST / 7.30pm NZST / 3.30am EDT / 12.30am PDT - Japan v Ireland
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 12.00pm CET / 12.00pm SAST / 8.00pm AEST / 10.00pm NZST / 6.00am EDT / 3.00am PDT - Fiji v England
Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, England
Kick-off: 2.10pm BST / 3.10pm CET / 3.10pm SAST / 11.10pm AEST / 1.10am NZST (Sunday) / 9.10am EDT / 6.10am PDT - South Africa v Scotland
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 4.40pm BST / 5.40pm CET / 5.40pm SAST / 1.40am AEST (Sunday) / 3.40am NZST (Sunday) / 11.40am EDT / 8.40am PDT - Argentina v Wales
Estadio San Juan de Bicentenario, San Juan
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST / 9.00pm CET / 9.00pm SAST / 5.00am AEST (Sunday) / 7.00am NZST (Sunday) / 3.00pm EDT / 12.00pm PDT
Round 3
Saturday 18 July 2026
- Japan v France
National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 9.40am BST / 10.40am CET / 10.40am SAST / 6.40pm AEST / 8.40pm NZST / 4.40am EDT / 1.40am PDT - New Zealand v Ireland
Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 8.10am BST / 9.10am CET / 9.10am SAST / 5.10pm AEST / 7.10pm NZST / 3.10am EDT / 12.10am PDT - Australia v Italy
HBF Park, Perth
Kick-off: 11.00am BST / 12.00pm CET / 12.00pm SAST / 8.00pm AEST / 10.00pm NZST / 6.00am EDT / 3.00am PDT - Fiji v Scotland
Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland
Kick-off: 2.10pm BST / 3.10pm CET / 3.10pm SAST / 11.10pm AEST / 1.10am NZST (Sunday) / 9.10am EDT / 6.10am PDT - South Africa v Wales
Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 4.40pm BST / 5.40pm CET / 5.40pm SAST / 1.40am AEST (Sunday) / 3.40am NZST (Sunday) / 11.40am EDT / 8.40am PDT - Argentina v England
Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero
Kick-off: 8.00pm BST / 9.00pm CET / 9.00pm SAST / 5.00am AEST (Sunday) / 7.00am NZST (Sunday) / 3.00pm EDT / 12.00pm PDT
Northern hemisphere fixtures
Round 4
Saturday 7 November 2026
- Ireland v Argentina
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: TBC - Italy v South Africa
Venue: TBC
Kick-off: TBC - Scotland v New Zealand
Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 2.10pm GMT / 3.10pm CET / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.10am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT - Wales v Japan
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: TBC - France v Fiji
Venue: TBC
Kick-off: TBC
Sunday 8 November
- England v Australia
Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 3.10pm GMT / 4.10pm CET / 5.10pm SAST / 2.10am AEDT (Monday) / 4.10am NZDT (Monday) / 10.10am ET / 7.10am PT
Round 5
Saturday 14 November 2026
- France v South Africa
Venue: TBC
Kick-off: TBC - Italy v Argentina
Venue: TBC
Kick-off: TBC - Wales vs New Zealand
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 2.10pm GMT / 3.10pm CET / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.10am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT - England v Japan
Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 4.40pm GMT / 5.40pm CET / 6.40pm SAST / 3.40am AEDT (Sunday) / 5.40am NZDT (Sunday) / 11.40am ET / 8.40am PT - Ireland v Fiji
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: TBC
Sunday 15 November 2026
- Scotland v Australia
Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 3.10pm GMT / 4.10pm CET / 5.10pm SAST / 2.10am AEDT (Monday) / 4.10am NZDT (Monday) / 10.10am ET / 7.10am PT
Round 6
Friday 20 November 2026
- France v Argentina
Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: TBC
Saturday 21 November 2026
- England v New Zealand
Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 2.10pm GMT / 3.10pm CET / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.10am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT - Scotland v Japan
Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
2.10pm GMT / 3.10pm CET / 4.10pm SAST / 1.10am AEDT (Sunday) / 3.10am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.10am ET / 6.10am PT - Ireland v South Africa
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: TBC - Italy v Fiji
Venue: TBC
Kick-off: TBC - Wales v Australia
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 8.10pm GMT / 9.10pm CET / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEDT (Sunday) / 9.10am NZDT (Sunday) / 10.10am ET / 7.10am PT
Finals weekend
Friday 27 – Sunday 29 November 2026
Fixtures TBC – to be played at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Nations Championship 2026: Squads
The squads for all 12 teams will be updated when they are announced.
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