We are officially at the half way mark of the 2026 Nations Championship, as the Southern Series was brought to a close this past weekend. France and South Africa lead their respective Hemisphere tables, following another blockbuster round of action throughout round three.
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The action began in New Zealand, as the All Blacks kept their iconic Eden Park unbeaten run alive with a thunderous 40-21 win over a dismantled Irish side. France then claimed an impressive 42-15 away win in the Far East, with an impressive victory over Eddie Jones’ Japan. The Wallabies then hosted Italy in a must-win ‘race to the bottom’ match up, with Australia ending their wait for a Nations Championship victory, as the 57-10 drubbing ensured a third-straight defeat for Gonzalo Quesada’s side.
Scotland then survived a first half scare against Fiji, to complete an impressive 33-17 comeback win at Murrayfield and climb up to second in their respective Northern table. The Springboks then dropped the hammer down on Wales, with Steve Tandy’s side left to pick up the pieces of a blistering 43-0 defeat in Durban. The final match of the Southern Series witnessed England continue their return to winning form with a strong away victory against Argentina, despite seeing four men sent to the sin bin throughout the match.
Steve Borthwick’s side triumphed 31-24 over Los Pumas to win bag the sporting bragging rights, after the English footballers suffered World Cup heartache. So, with the first three rounds of the Nations Championship in the bag for 2026, and the wait now commenced ahead of the Northern Series in November, we’ve pieced together our Team of the Tournament so far…
TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT (SO FAR…): NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTHERN SERIES
15. MATTHIEU JALIBERT (FRANCE)
We commence our Team of the Tournament for the Nations Championship Southern Series, with a man that was unleashed across a new-found position. In a move not too disimilar to Marcus Smith’s positional shift from fly half to full back in recent England appearences, Matthieu Jalibert began the series in the French 10 jersey, before being swapped into the 15 spot by Fabien Galthie.
This accomodated the return of Romain Ntamack at fly half, and allowed Les Bleus to run riot across several attacking axis, with Jalibert seamlessly slotting into the back-field role. Jalibert made the most metres out of any player in the Southern Series, and also completed the second most carries across a phenomenal adaptation.
14. WILL JORDAN (NEW ZEALAND)
Taking his spot upon the right touch-line is the history making All Black from the Nations Championship. Will Jordan scored his way into the record books, as he ran in his 50th career test match try for New Zealand in their second round win over Italy. It was an incredible feat by the Crusaders man, who continues to prove why he is regarded amongst the world’s most revered finishers, as New Zealand enjoyed an unbeaten campaign of triumphs over France, Italy and Ireland. Jordan scored six tries in the campaign, and ended the three-week series as the top try scorer.
13. JESSE KRIEL (SOUTH AFRICA)
The outside centre spot goes to the formidable Jesse Kriel of the Springboks, who was at his game-breaking best for Rassie Erasmus once again. Kriel was the consistent operator across an ever-changing cast of Springboks, with Rassie entrusting the experienced midfielder to retain his 13 jersey for all three tests against England, Scotland and Wales.
Whilst the majority of the South African players were rotated around the squad to cater for the ever-growing green and gold depth charts, Kriel ran in a try in each of three rounds, and reminded the rugby world once again why he is the standard bearer for centres on the test match stage.
12. SIONE TUIPULOTU (SCOTLAND)
The Scotland captain comes into the centres alongside Jesse Kriel, as Sione Tuipulotu was simply remarkable throughout the Nations Championship campaign. The Glasgow Warriors man was back to his very best at the helm of his country, with the midfield powerhouse setting the precedent for Scotland’s impressive opening weekend trip down to Argentina.
Tuipulotu then spear-headed the efforts down in South Africa with an all-time top performance, as Scotland battled tooth and nail in a losing effort to the Springboks. The centre closed out his campaign by leading Scotland’s comeback win over Fiji, as his arrival off the bench brought an immediate momentum shift to the match, as Gregor Townsend’s side to secure the hard-fought victory.
11. KURT-LEE ARENDSE (SOUTH AFRICA)
With Rassie Erasmus prioritising a heavily rotated squad for the Nations Championship, blockbuster wing Kurt-Lee Ardense was given two matches to showcase why he is still regarded in the upper-echelons of deadly finishers. The Bulls man wasted no time upon to make his mark, as Arendse bagged a stunning try England in the dominant first round victory, before making a second trip across the white-wash against Wales. With such frightening depth of options across the Springboks wide channels, Ardense made good upon his opportunities to impress, as he rides a wave of momentum that first broke with his excellent URC form.
10. RUBEN LOVE (NEW ZEALAND)
Taking the keys to number 10 is the latest break-out star in the famous black jersey, with Ruben Love preferred as the first choice fly half for the All Blacks. Having previously only made sporadic New Zealand appearances at full-back, Love was back by head coach Dave Rennie to take the reins, with the All Blacks boss making it abundantly clear that he was picking his team based on current Super Rugby form.
With the Hurricanes dominant throughout their latest title winning campaign with Love pulling the strings, the 25-year-old rolled this into a star-making international series. With Beauden Barrett, Damien McKenzie and a returning Richie Mo’unga all pushing for the All Blacks 10 jersey, Love will need to maintain this incredible form to keep hold of the spot.
9. MAXIME LUCU (FRANCE)
With Antoine Dupont sidelined by the injury sustained during Toulouse’s run-in to the Top 14 final, Maxime Lucu was handed the responsibility of steering France from scrum-half. The Bordeaux Begles star responded in emphatic fashion, emerging as one of the most influential players in Fabien Galthie’s side throughout the Southern Series.
Lucu’s control, accuracy and composure gave France a reliable conductor in Dupont’s absence, while his 37 points made him the highest scorer across the entire tournament so far. With Dupont expected to return for the Northern Series, Galthie now faces an intriguing selection call: whether to immediately restore his captain and talisman, or continue with the man who has proved that France possess a genuine alternative at No.9.
