Nations Championship is international rugby’s newest competition, and is set to add an extra competitive element to men’s summer and autumn internationals.

The bi-annual tournament will combine 12 sides from around the globe in fixtures across the summer and autumn, beginning in July 2026. It will take place in years when there’s no Rugby World Cup and no British & Irish Lions tour.

It will unite the six European teams in the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales), the four Rugby Championship sides (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina), and Fiji and Japan in an attempt to align the global rugby calendar.

Fixtures will be played across the southern and northern hemispheres in the summer and autumn, with the finals taking place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham from 27 to 29 November.

Maro Itoje’s England will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing Six Nations when their Nations Championship campaign kicks off in July (David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ronan Dunne, co-Chair of the Nations Championship, said: “The Nations Championship, and its introduction into the international rugby calendar, is a transformational moment for the entire sport, and demonstrates the power of collaboration.

“The tournament will bring together the very best from across the game, elevating rugby on a global scale, but its power to alter the sport’s trajectory and usher in a new era of sustained growth stands to be a hallmark of the Nations Championship.”

Japan and Fiji are included despite not being a part of the Six Nations or Rugby Championship.

Brendan Morris, CEO of SANZAAR, said: “We warmly welcome our Pacific neighbours Japan and Fiji into the tournament, as part of our ‘team’. The participating teams are excited, the broadcasters are excited, and the fans are excited, and we very much look forward to July 2026 when it all kicks-off.”

Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison added: “Rugby’s strongest nations have collaborated with a clear vision to grow the game, by challenging traditional ways of operating to create a tournament structure with genuine global relevance, which will unlock the true value of the sport.”

Below is everything you need to know about the competition.

Nations Championship 2026: Overview

– Dates: Saturday 4 July – Sunday 29 November, 2026

– Participating teams: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Wales

– TV rights: ITV hold the UK broadcasting rights for the new competition from 2026-2030

Can South Africa add the inaugural Nations Championship to a trophy cabinet that already includes the World Cup and the Rugby Championship? (Getty Images)

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Nations Championship 2026: Format

The competition will take place once every two years and involve 12 teams. Those sides will be split into two “conferences” of six – one containing the European teams, the other featuring the SANZAAR nations, Fiji and Japan.

• Related: Why will there be no Rugby Championship in 2026?

There will be three rounds of fixtures played in the southern hemisphere (Japan counts as the southern hemisphere for Nations Championship purposes) in the summer, and three played in the northern hemisphere in the autumn. (Note that Fiji are not playing their southern hemisphere matches at home, having instead decided to play their matches against Wales, England and Scotland in the UK for commercial reasons.)

Each participating nation will face each of the six sides in the other conference – for example, England will play South Africa, Fiji and Argentina this summer, before hosting Australia, Japan and New Zealand in the autumn.

The games will then culminate in a finals weekend, which takes place at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in November. Based on league placings in the two conferences, the highest ranked European team will face the best “rest of the world” team in the Nations Championship final in November.

Antoine Dupont’s France side kick off their Nations Championship against the All Blacks in New Zealand (Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Nations Championship 2026: Fixtures

Southern hemisphere fixtures

Kick-off times TBC

Finals weekend: 27-29 November 2026

Fixtures TBC – to be played at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham

Nations Championship 2026: Squads

The squads for all 12 teams will be updated when they are announced.

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