The Rugby Nations Championship: Everything You Need To Know

What is the Nations Championship?

World Rugby has announced a new biennial international rugby competition to enhance the men’s international game as we know it, and provide certainty of fixtures for rugby union teams outside of the international competitions that already exist.

The Rugby Nations Championship – a new addition to the World Rugby schedule voted by the World Rugby Council in Paris.

Which teams will be playing at the Nations Championship?

The competition will begin in 2026 and will feature a top division of 12 rugby teams. These teams will be made up of the 6 Nations teams (England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France) the 4 SANZAAR teams who play in the Rugby Championship (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina) and 2 additional teams, likely to be Japan and Fiji. It will take a north-south hemisphere style rivalry and will occur on non-Rugby World Cup and British and Irish Lions Tour years.

The competition will be played during the July and November international windows. Clubs will have to release their players for international duty across the four weeks in the northern hemisphere, rather than the current three. The winner of the competition is determined after a number of one-off fixtures in a Grand Final.

The Guinness Six Nations is likely to lose one rest weekend and reduce from a seven to a six-week tournament to facilitate an extension to the international window in November. This will also align with the equivalent European competition.

The third division competition will be established in 2023 involving 12 more teams, bringing the total number to 24 teams.

The Pacific Nations Cup will be expanded too beginning in 2024, including Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, USA and Canada.

 

When is the Nations Championship?

There are 2 competition phases, 3 Test matches in July and 3 Test matches in November. This will replace the current Summer and Autumn Internationals.

 

Where is the Nations Cup held?

The fixtures held in July will be held in the southern hemisphere, with the 6 Nations teams travelling down to to south. The November fixtures will be held in the northern hemisphere, with the SANZAAR teams, Japan and Fiji travelling north.

 

What is the format of the Nations Championship?

The competition will be a biannual international rugby tournament which will be held in the years when there is no British & Irish Lions Tour or Rugby World Cup. The Test matches will occur in July and November with a Grand Final taking place at the end of the year to determine the overall winner. After 2030, the teams will be relegated and promoted between the different divisions, however it’s not yet exactly clear on how this will work – so watch this space!

What does the international rugby schedule look like now?

Nations Championship Years

February to March – Guinness Six Nations
July – Nations Championship Phase 1
August to September – Rugby Championship and Pacific Nations Cup
November – Nations Championship Phase 2

Yearly Breakdown

2026 - first Nations Championship
2027 – Rugby World Cup Australia (men’s RWC will have 24 teams competing)
2028 - second Nations Championship
2029 – British & Irish Lions Tour in New Zealand
2030 – third Nations Championship & first Nations Championship for Division 2

 

Rugby World Cup Changes

To add the excitement, the Rugby World Cup will be expanded to include 24 teams. This will take effect at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, which includes 4 more teams than the current format.

There will be six pools of four teams and will include a new Round 16 to take place before the quarter-final stages, with the top two teams from each group automatically qualifying in addition to the top four third-placed teams.

This has been introduced to the tournament help develop the sport further and bring a new era to rugby, helping to support more international teams by diversifying from its traditional format.

The new changes across the tournaments are bringing a more unified and cohesive global calendar to the sport and should increase rugby’s commercial potential, helping to improve a busy club and country schedule for players and their welfare.

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