Hold onto your jerseys, rugby fans! The Rugby Championship as we know it is heading for the sin bin for a few years. With the Springboks currently defending their title, whispers from the Sydney Morning Herald hint that this could be their last rodeo in the usual format for a good while. The Championship is set to take a hiatus in 2026 and 2028, and will only make a brief cameo in 2027 due to the World Cup festivities.
So, what’s on the rugby menu instead? Get ready for a feast! In 2026, brace yourselves for a seven-match super tour featuring the All Blacks taking on South Africa’s fiercest franchises – the Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, and Lions – not to mention three, possibly four, testy encounters with the Springboks themselves. Think of it as a rugby buffet where the dessert could potentially be served up somewhere in Europe.
"The mini-tour format introduced in 2022 really helped build narratives and intensity between teams,"
noted one rugby pundit. Indeed, this format has spiced things up recently, with the Boks enduring back-to-back nail-biters against the All Blacks and then hosting the Wallabies for another round of intense match-ups just last month.In the midst of all this, 2026 also marks the debut of the Nations Championship. This new kid on the block is a 12-team clash of the titans from both hemispheres, promising cross-hemisphere tests and a finals weekend to remember in November. While it’s set to bring more drama and moolah to the game, it’s also going to sideline the traditional July tours from the north.
The landscape of international rugby is shifting, folks. With these changes, it looks like the game's traditional rhythms are being remixed into something even more exciting. So, strap in and get ready for some globe-trotting rugby action that’s sure to keep us on our toes and screaming at our screens!