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 - including the Rugby World Cup and the British & Irish Lions Tours 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 Guinness Men's Six Nations teams (England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France) in European pool and the 4 SANZAAR teams who play in the Rugby Championship (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina) and 2 additional teams, Japan and Fiji in a Rest of the World pool. It will take a north-south hemisphere style rivalry and will occur on non-Rugby World Cup and British and Irish Lions Tour years.

When is the Nations Championship?

There are 2 competition phases, a pool stage played across the 3 Test matches in July and 3 Test matches in November (the traditional slot of the Autumn Nations Series).

Where is the Nations Cup held?

The fixtures held in July will be held in the southern hemisphere, with the Guinness Men's Six Nations teams travelling down to to south. The November fixtures will be held in the northern hemisphere, with the SANZAAR teams, plus Japan and Fiji travelling north.

What is the format of the Nations Championship?

The biannual international competition will be played during the July and November international windows. Each nation will play the each of the six nations in the opposing pool once either home or away during July and November, where they will accrue points for wins, draws and bonus points that will populate a league table for each pool. All 12 nations will then compete in a Finals Weekend format with nations playing off against a country with the same ranking from the opposing pool, including a first place v first place in a Grand Final to crown the overall winner.

From 2026 the Guinness Six Nations will lose one of its rest weekends (or "fallow weeks") 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 second division of the competition will be established in future involving 12 more teams, bringing the total number of teams across both divisions of the Nations Champions to 24.  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

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

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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