Nations Championship fixtures, schedule and kick-off times
Everything you need to know ahead of the inaugural edition of the competition
Men’s international rugby will get a new look with the launch of the Nations Championship reshaping the July and November Test windows. The new competition pits the Six Nations sides against the four Rugby Championship competitors, plus Japan and Fiji, across six matches split evenly between the two months. The results of those games will determine each of the 12 teams’ seedings for the finals weekend at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium , with six matches contested over two days and both team and hemisphere silverware up for grabs.
Each entrant will be matched against the equivalent qualifier from the other pool to decide overall placings at the conclusion of a busy year of international action. Here’s the full competition schedule, and how it will all work: What is the Nations Championship? Announced during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the new competition will be held every other year and replaces the traditional summer tours and Autumn Nations Series.
It is designed to add context to the international calendar, with Fiji and Japan invited to join the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides to form a top 12. Promotion and relegation is planned for the future with the second-tier Nations Cup, though will not take place in 2026. The entrants are: Northern Hemisphere : France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, England, Wales.
Southern Hemisphere: South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Japan. What about the finals weekend? The first finals weekend will be held at Twickenham on the last weekend (27 to 29) of November.
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