2026 is a landmark year for rugby, with the debut of the Nations Championship. Fierce cross hemisphere rivalries will be put on the global stage when the tournament kicks off later this year, with international rugby fixtures across the globe in July and November, on the way to the blockbuster Nations Championship Finals Weekend, in London.
The new competitive tournament format injects jeopardy and more meaning into every fixture, where a winning team will be crowned tournament Champion, and the dominant Hemisphere in the sport that year decided.
To recap the tournament format, teams competing, how points will be won throughout the July and November fixtures, to dictate group standings and Finals Weekend head-to-heads, and how a winning team and hemisphere will be decided, a short explainer video covers everything you need to know:
WATCH: The Nations Championship Explainer Video
FIXTURE INFORMATION: View the full Nations Championship fixture schedule and register for Finals Weekend information
Background Information
- Venues and KO times per Nations Championship fixture, across July and November, will be announced in due course.
- International broadcast coverage and commercial partnership announcements will be made in due course.
- The Nations Championship has been created by Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR, who have formed a new joint venture. The new tournament is part of a broader package of global calendar reform that has been shaped with input from across the game, including players and their associations, teams, leagues, unions, federations, and World Rugby. It is the product of game wide collaboration.
- Visit the Nations Championship Website for full fixture information and Finals Weekend ticket registration
- Follow the Nations Championship on Instagram
