Nations Championship Explained: Everything you need to know ahead of July's Southern Series

Rugby News

by Tom Sansom

Monday, 29 June 2026 at 16:27

byTom Sansom

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The inaugural Nations Championship gets underway in July, ushering in a new era for international rugby.

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Featuring the world's 12 leading Test nations, the competition will replace the traditional standalone Summer tours and Autumn Test windows with a connected global tournament where every match counts.

Split across six rounds before a Finals Weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, the Nations Championship promises heavyweight clashes from the opening weekend, including New Zealand v France, South Africa v England and Australia v Ireland.

Here's everything you need to know.

Nations Championship explained: Which teams are competing?

The tournament features 12 nations divided into two conferences. The sextet of teams from the Six Nations of the Northern Hemisphere, take on the quartet of the Rugby Championship. The 10 Tier One rugby nations are then joined by Pacific Nations Cup heavyweights Japan and Fiji.

Northern Conference

England
France
Ireland
Italy
Scotland
Wales

Southern Conference

Argentina
Australia
Fiji
Japan
New Zealand
South Africa

Unlike a traditional league, teams do not play sides in their own conference.

Instead, every Northern Hemisphere nation plays all six Southern Hemisphere teams once, while every Southern Hemisphere nation faces each of the six Northern Hemisphere sides.

Each team therefore plays:

Six matches
Three home fixtures
Three away fixtures

How does the format work?

The tournament is split across two international windows.

Summer window - Southern Series

Round 1 – Saturday 4 July
Round 2 – Saturday 11 July
Round 3 – Saturday 18 July

Southern Hemisphere nations host the opening three rounds, although Fiji's designated home fixtures are played in the UK due to stadium requirements, with Japan also 'hosting' in Australia.

Autumn window - Northern Series

Round 4 – 6–8 November
Round 5 – 13–15 November
Round 6 – 21 November

How are points awarded?

The Nations Championship uses the standard World Rugby competition points system.

Result	Points
Win	4
Draw	2
Loss	0
Score four or more tries	+1 bonus point
Lose by seven points or fewer	+1 bonus point

If teams finish level on points, standard tie-breakers including points difference and tries scored determine the standings.

What is Finals Weekend?

Each of the 12 teams will progress to Finals Weekend, held at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham between 27-29 November 2026.

Rather than semi-finals, each nation plays the side that finishes in the same position in the opposite conference.

The fixtures are:

Northern 6th vs Southern 6th (11th-place play-off)
Northern 5th vs Southern 5th (9th-place play-off)
Northern 4th vs Southern 4th (7th-place play-off)
Northern 3rd vs Southern 3rd (5th-place play-off)
Northern 2nd vs Southern 2nd (3rd-place play-off)
Northern 1st vs Southern 1st (Nations Championship Final)

2026 Nations Championship fixtures

Round 1 – Saturday 4 July

Match	Venue	Local KO	UK KO
New Zealand vs France	One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch	7:10pm	8:10am BST
Japan vs Italy	Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo	5:40pm	9:40am BST
Australia vs Ireland	Allianz Stadium, Sydney	8:10pm	11:10am BST
Fiji vs Wales	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	2:10pm	2:10pm BST
South Africa vs England	Ellis Park, Johannesburg	5:40pm	4:40pm BST
Argentina vs Scotland	Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba	4:10pm	8:10pm BST

Five matches you won't want to miss in Round 1

The tournament opens with a blockbuster in Christchurch as New Zealand host France, a fixture many believe could easily become a preview of the championship final.

Ireland begin with a trip to Sydney to face Australia, while England travel with the odds against them to Ellis Park, where South Africa remain one of the hardest teams in world rugby to beat.

Meanwhile, Scotland face a daunting opening assignment in Córdoba against high-flying Argentina, while Wales meet Fiji in Cardiff in what will officially count as one of Fiji's designated home fixtures.

Round 2 – Saturday 11 July

Match	Venue	Local KO	UK KO
New Zealand vs Italy	Hnry Stadium, Wellington	5:10pm	6:10am BST
Australia vs France	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	5:40pm	8:40am BST
Japan vs Ireland	McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle	8:10pm	11:10am BST
Fiji vs England	Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool	2:10pm	2:10pm BST
South Africa vs Scotland	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria	5:40pm	4:40pm BST
Argentina vs Wales	Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan	4:10pm	8:10pm BST

Round 3 – Saturday 18 July

Match	Venue	Local KO	UK KO
New Zealand vs Ireland	Eden Park, Auckland	7:10pm	8:10am BST
Japan vs France	MUFG Stadium, Tokyo	5:40pm	9:40am BST
Australia vs Italy	HBF Park, Perth	6:10pm	11:10am BST
Fiji vs Scotland	Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh	2:10pm	2:10pm BST
South Africa vs Wales	Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban	5:40pm	4:40pm BST
Argentina vs England	Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero	4:10pm	8:10pm BST