The New Nations Championship

The following is interesting:-

NEWS: The Springboks will aim to finish 2026 as the top Test side on the planet in the new Nations Championship tournament.

The back-to-back World Cup champs will host England, Scotland and Wales in July 2026 as the new global tournament sees a northern invasion of the southern hemisphere.

The groundbreaking Nations Championship – a landmark joint venture between SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby to create the new biennial tournament – was officially launched on Monday, with the 12 biggest nations in world rugby colliding in a competitive new tournament that will reshape the future of the global game.

The SANZAAR nations – South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina – plus invitational teams Japan and Fiji, will represent the Southern Hemisphere in the new competition, played in the two existing international windows in July and November, against the Six Nations teams, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

Following the six rounds, the Nations Championship will culminate in a first-of-its-kind Finals Weekend, which will be hosted at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in London next November.

England (July 4), Scotland (July 11) and Wales (July 18) will head to South Africa for the midyear Tests, while it was also confirmed that the Boks will face Italy (weekend of November 6-8), France (weekend of November 13-15 ) and Ireland (November 21) in Europe next year to complete fixtures against all Six Nations teams.

The Finals Weekend, scheduled for November 27-29, 2026, will deliver world-class sporting entertainment to fans, with three days of double headers taking centre stage at the Allianz Stadium in London. A totally new concept for rugby union, the Finals Weekend adds a dramatic climax to the tournament, where every fixture matters to every team, and creates an unmissable experience for players and fans alike.

The top-ranked teams in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres will battle it out to be named the first-ever Champion of the new tournament. Adding to the competitive jeopardy of the Finals Weekend, teams will also be competing to earn points for their group to decide the dominant Hemisphere in the sport that year.

By the conclusion of the Nations Championship Finals Weekend, players and fans will know the best nation in the sport and where the balance of power lies between the two hemispheres, outside a Rugby World Cup.

I’ll definitely be taking in the 3 days of double headers at Twickers next Nov

Wales in South Africa…..not even the singing….hard to get excited about that. So who are the World Champs, the last winners of the WC or the Winners of the Nations Cup.

Rugby continues to get sillier

So NZ, Aus and Japan get to play French B/C teams. as this starts a week after the Top 14 ends??

Is it me of would this have been better without the finals. Should just be a straight league table with a single winner.

How do the finals work - 3 days of double headers?

Im not sure how that works

I think it’s a stupid idea !

If it was a straight league table they would have to have league matches ‘in the hemisphere’.

My vote would go to a three year WC cycle…we are still on the Olympic model. It works for soccer because club competition is more important in soccer….in rugby the international game dominates. WCs could also be made slicker by having a few rounds before the main tournament whittling down the minnows and having more big games.

The next WC unfortunately has even more sides in it. The pool stages are going to be a bit of a farce

Yes they want to expose more sides to the big stage but in the process they are lessening the appeal of the WC

Its a poor call