So you’ve heard about this new thing called the Nations Championship? So what is it?
And how does it differ from the Rugby Championship and Six Nations?
Of course it seems to be a mishmash of the two names, but the new concept is 12 teams playing over the course of a year to try and decide the best side in the world - between World Cups, of course.
And while it may not be something the purists will like - we were just getting back to the old school 3 test series - and may have some profound questions to answer about travel and carbon footprints, it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. This is supposed to be a “world cup for the off years”, so to speak, bringing together the top 12 rugby nations to compete for a trophy (yes, another one).
So let’s break it down how the tournament works.
How did we get here?
Well traditionally the northern hemisphere sides would tour the southern hemisphere in June/July and the visa versa to the north in November - hence the autumn internationals. These were standalone fixtures, competing for world ranking points but with no jeopardy to them. Instead of bragging rights fixtures, these have been turned into a championship with a final weekend at Twickenham.
Who is playing?
The tournament is split into two conferences of six teams each, based on geography:
The Northern Conference: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
The Southern Conference: Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and two invited guest nations (currently Japan and Fiji).
How the tournament works
Teams only play opposition from the opposite conference, or hemisphere
During the July window, the northern hemisphere teams will face 3 different opponents in three weekends. In November that will reverse.
Every match earns points toward a log, with bonus points being earned.
How are the bonus points calculated?
The format is the classical system of a bonus point for four or more tries, and not one for scoring three more tries than the opposition - like the Rugby Championship has done. Bonus points are likely to be a big part of determining the final placings.
Points are awarded as such:
Win: 4 points
Draw: 2 points
Loss: 0 points
Tries bonus point: Awarded for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the result
Losing bonus point: Awarded for finishing seven or less points behind the opposition team
So who is playing this weekend?
Here is the complete schedule for the upcoming July blocks of the Nations Championship, meticulously verified with all kickoff times converted to South African Standard Time (SAST). It’s clean, formatted, and ready to be dropped straight into your article editor:
All games are CAT, GMT+2 and are live on SuperSport
Round 1 — Saturday, 4 July 2026
09:10 — New Zealand v France (One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch)
10:40 — Japan v Italy (Chichibunomiya Stadium, Tokyo)
12:10 — Australia v Ireland (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
15:10 — Fiji v Wales (Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff)
17:40 — South Africa v England (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
21:10 — Argentina v Scotland (Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba)
Round 2 — Saturday, 11 July 2026
07:10 — New Zealand v Italy (Sky Stadium, Wellington)
09:40 — Australia v France (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
12:10 — Japan v Ireland (McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle)
15:10 — Fiji v England (Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool)
17:40 — South Africa v Scotland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
21:10 — Argentina v Wales (Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan)
Round 3 — Saturday, 18 July 2026
09:10 — New Zealand v Ireland (Eden Park, Auckland)
10:40 — Japan v France (National Stadium, Tokyo)
12:10 — Australia v Italy (HBF Park, Perth)
15:10 — Fiji v Scotland (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
17:40 — South Africa v Wales (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
21:10 — Argentina v England (Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero)
The tournament will then head to the northern hemisphere in November where there will be three rounds there. On the fourth weekend, the Finals weekend takes place.
How the Finals Weekend will work
Because all teams don’t play each other, there is no knockout rounds. To substitute this, all 12 teams will play on the final weekend to determine their final ranking. The 6 Northern Hemisphere teams will be ranked from 1-6 based on their log positions, and the same for the 6 Southern Hemisphere teams.
They will all play at Twickenham over three days on the final weekend, with the “final” being the top ranked teams from each hemisphere facing off on the Sunday afternoon.
The finals weekend will take place from November 27-29 with the following schedule of games
Friday November 27
11th place playoff: Northern 6th place v Southern 6th place
5th place playoff: Northern 3rd v Southern 3rd
Saturday 28 November
9th place playoff: Northern 5th v Southern 5th
3rd place playoff: Northern 2nd v Southern 2nd
Sunday 29 November
7th place playoff: Northern 4th v Southern 4th
Grand final: Top placed finishers North v South
The winner of the Grand final will be crowned Nations Championship Champion.