The Six Nations and Rugby Championship are joining forces in a historic commercial agreement that could change the face of international rugby.
The landmark deal will see rugby's biggest northern and southern hemisphere nations share commercial revenue for the first time.
England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy will benefit from a closer financial relationship with New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina.
However, the Six Nations and Rugby Championship will remain separate competitions.
Six Nations and Rugby Championship join forces
According to The Guardian, the agreement will see the 10 founding Nations Championship unions pool their media and commercial rights.
Under the new arrangement, southern hemisphere nations will receive a share of profits generated by the Six Nations and British & Irish Lions tours.
In return, northern hemisphere unions will benefit from revenue generated by the Rugby Championship and the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and New Zealand.
A new commercial rights agency will oversee the agreement, with the aim of increasing the value of international rugby.
RFU chief explains historic agreement
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney believes the partnership could transform how rugby's biggest competitions are sold to broadcasters and sponsors.
“In effect, we are creating a commercial rights agency which sits underneath the 10 Nations Championship founding unions,” Sweeney said.
“We think that will result in a much better and more efficient approach to the market, obviously with the intention of increasing overall valuations and growing the commercial side of the game.”
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The changes are expected to affect commercial and sponsorship agreements from 2028.
Existing television contracts will remain in place until the end of 2029.
However, from 2030, broadcasters could purchase rights to the Six Nations, Rugby Championship and Nations Championship together.
Individual broadcasting packages will also remain available.
The move comes as organisers look to maximise the commercial potential of the new Nations Championship.
It also follows the collapse of an £80million agreement for Qatar to host the competition's finals weekends.
While the tournaments themselves will not merge, the agreement represents one of the biggest changes to international rugby's commercial structure in years.
