This Is The Best XV in Rugby Union Right Now

The Northern and Southern Hemisphere's collide in this all-new international competition, that has officially replaced the Summer tours of old, along with the traditional Autumn Nations Series. This year, the best 12 teams from across the globe battle it out, across six exhilarating weekends in July and November, before the Finals weekend crowns the overall victor.

The competition gets underway tomorrow with six incredible international clashes to savour across a stacked Saturday of action. The All Blacks host France to start the tournament with a bang in Christchurch, before Japan host Italy in Tokyo and Ireland take on the Wallabies at the Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Fiji and Wales then clash in Cardiff, before the Springboks welcome England to Ellis Park in Johannesburg, and Argentina versus Scotland closes out the day.

Before the action gets underway in round one of the Nations Championship, we have compiled the ultimate match day 23 made up of players that are set to feature this weekend. With the teams confirmed for all 12 countries in preparation of Saturday's insane roster of rugby, here's RUCK's Dream 23 for Round One of the 2026 Nations Championship.

Hugo Keenan gets set to make a long overdue return to the green jersey this Summer. After undergoing a pre-planned hip operation following the 2025 Lions tour, Keenan took an expected leave from Ireland and Leinster duties. Keenan was scheduled to make his return for the 2026 Six Nations, yet the full-back suffered a fractured thumb at the Quinta do Lago training camp in Portugal. Keenan has been in tremendous form since making his comeback to provincial action, as the full-back raced across for five tries in 10 matches, as the Dubliners successfully retained their United Rugby Championship crown.

With a newly appointed head coach at the helm of the All Blacks, Dave Rennie has moved Will Jordan from full-back to the wing, with Chiefs play-maker Damien McKenzie slotted into the 15 jersey. The wing is by no means new territory for Jordan, despite how the Crusaders man is predominantly a full-back for club and country. Jordan has one of the greatest strike rates across international rugby, with a blistering record of 42 tries in 44 All Blacks caps putting the Nations Championship on notice.

We keep it all things Kiwi, with arguably the world's most in-form outside centre taking the spot in the 13 jersey. After a breathtaking campaign with the Chiefs that took the Waikato side all the way to the final, Quinn Tupaea was named Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Season and enters the Nations Championship upon a thunderous tidal wave of momentum. With eight tries to his name throughout the latest club campaign, Tupaea has certainly developed a nack for getting across the whitewash, as the All Blacks prepare to take on France tomorrow, upon their Test debut at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.

Completing the midfield pairing is a man that will soon be leaving Italy ahead of the incoming 2026/27 season. The sky continues to be the limit for Azzurri centre Tommaso Menoncello, who's world class talents sees him move on from his beloved Benetton and sign with French giants Toulouse for the new season. Menoncello has been nothing short of world class this year, with his thunderous carries and game-breaking passing central to the success of Gonzalo Quesada's side. England had no answer to the midfielder, as Menoncello ran roughshod in the 2026 Six Nations for a historic win, with Italy eyeing up more record shocks in the Nations Championship.

Now, we begin this next entry with an asterisk. Given how Louis Bielle-Biarrey has been rested by Fabien Galthie for the Nations Championship, we have not selected the record-scoring Bordeuax-Begles sensation in our Dream 23. In his absence, France have found themselves quite the impressive alternative, with Theo Attissogbe out to build up his already solid stock with another strong run throughout the international window. The 21-year-old has come on leaps and bounds with Pau, with Galthie backing the young flyer to start along the touch-line for the clash with New Zealand.

There were plenty of options for the 10 jersey this week, yet the overwhelming consistency of Matthieu Jalibert has proven too solid to overlook. With an honourable mention in store for All Blacks fly half Ruben Love, who's been backed by Dave Rennie to take the reins following the Hurricanes' Super Rugby title triumph, Jalibert gets the pick following his heroics in the 2026 Six Nations and Bordeaux's incredible Champions Cup title defence. The out-half was peerless throughout France's and Bordeaux's respective trophy retentions, with winning momentum on the mid of Les Bleus just a year out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

There are plenty of moving parts to consider for the nine jersey in our Dream 23, as we've landed on Jamison Gibson-Park to lead the back-line ahead of Round One of the Nations Championship. With Antoine Dupont out for the tournament, the scrum half spot was a tug-of-war between Gibson-Park and France's newest leading man Maxime Lucu. Whilst there is no taking away from how Lucu bossed the Champions Cup Final and got the upper hand upon Gibson-Park's Leinster a month or so ago, the URC play-off run has witnessed the Ireland scrum half back to his game-changing best, with incredible performances and Player of the Match awards accrued upon the Dubliners' road to glory.

It's tight at the top between the two best loose-heads in world rugby, with both Ellis Genge and Ox Nche set to lock horns upon an entriguing opening weekend clash. England face quite the tall order this weekend, as they take on the Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, with an in-form Baby Rhino needing to be right up at his rampaging best, for England to stand a chance of holding their own at scrum-time. Genge is set to pack down opposite former-Bath-turned-Sharks man Thomas du Toit, whilst Nche takes on Leicester Tigers tight-head Joe Heyes. The Springboks pride themselves on their scurm authority, and Steve Borthwick's men will need to be at their most solid to weather the storm.

The Springboks truly are the standard bearers upon so many fronts, with hooker being no different. Last year, Malcolm Marx became the first hooker since Ireland and Lions great Keith Wood to win the World Rugby Player of the Year Award, with Marx once again revolutionising what it means to wear the two jersey. With line-out accuracy that a sniper would envy, to an attritional first step into contact that would dent the most reinforced wall, Marx is the total package for a modern-day front rower, with England captain Jamie George expectedly set for a long afternoon at Ellis Park.

We keep all our focus upon tomorrow's blockbuster clash in Johannesburg, with Thomas du Toit of the Springboks our pick as the best available tight-head in the Nations Championship squads. With an honourable mention bestowed to New Zealand's ever improving prop Fletcher Newell, du Toit plays in a tight-head class of his own, with Bath fans gutted to see their resident Tank Engine depart the Rec in favour of a move back home to South Africa. The prop links up with the Sharks ahead of the 2026/27 United Rugby Championship season, with this Saturday's up-front battle with Ellis Genge set to close the chapter on the Bath and Bristol men's West Country rivalry.

Whilst it has in no way shape or form being a memorable season for Eben Etzebeth, the all-time most capped Springbok has the legacy to earn his spot upon our Dream 23 for the opening weekend of the 2026 Nations Championship. There's plenty of buzz around the Springboks camp with their enforcer back in the mix, as the last time Etzebeth played in green and gold, he was handed a colossal 12-week ban for eye-gouging Alex Mann of Wales. Etzebeth is back with a burning desire to make up for lost time, and if there is one thing more formidable than the lock in Springbok colours, it's when Etzebeth has a point to prove.

Rounding off the second row is Ireland's James Ryan, who looks back to his commanding best after a superb end to the domestic season with Leinster. Injuries may have disrupted parts of the campaign, but Ryan returned at exactly the right time, producing a string of influential displays as Leo Cullen's side retained the United Rugby Championship title. His trademark line-out calling, relentless work rate and physical edge remain central to everything Ireland do up front, and with Andy Farrell and Paul O'Connell placing their faith in the experienced lock once again, Ryan heads into the Nations Championship with plenty of momentum. Against an abrasive Australian pack in Sydney, expect the 29-year-old to lead from the front and remind everyone why he has remained one of world rugby's premier second rows for the best part of a decade.

Few players embody international rugby quite like Siya Kolisi. The inspirational Springbok captain returns for another major campaign with the same infectious energy and unmatched leadership that has defined South Africa's golden era. While his influence off the field is immeasurable, Kolisi's performances continue to justify his place among the world's elite back-rowers. Whether slowing opposition ball at the breakdown, producing crunching defensive hits or appearing in support at exactly the right moment, the soon-to-be Stormers flanker has an uncanny knack for delivering in the biggest moments. England will know better than most just how dangerous Kolisi can be, with the double World Cup-winning captain relishing another opportunity to lead the Springboks into battle at a packed Ellis Park.

If there is one forward every coach would build their pack around, it is Pieter-Steph du Toit. The multi-time World Rugby Player of the Year continues to redefine what is expected from a flanker, combining relentless defensive intensity with an engine that simply never seems to stop. Few players make more tackles, carry harder or cover more ground over 80 minutes than the towering Springbok, whose consistency has remained remarkable throughout the past 12 months. Steve Borthwick's England face the unenviable task of containing one of rugby's ultimate competitors, with du Toit once again expected to be everywhere when the Springboks need him most.

There could only be one name to complete our Dream XV. Ardie Savea remains the benchmark for back-row play in world rugby and enters the Nations Championship after yet another extraordinary season. Fresh from winning the Japan Rugby League One with Kobelco Kobe Steelers, his former Kobe head coach Dave Rennie has since named Savea captain for the All Blacks. Savea's influence extends far beyond the statistics.

His ability to dominate collisions, win turnovers, link seamlessly with his backs and inspire those around him makes him arguably the most complete rugby player on the planet. France will undoubtedly target Savea from the opening whistle, but containing the back row for 80 minutes is a challenge few teams have solved. As the Nations Championship gets underway, there is no better player to anchor RUCK's Dream 23 than the world game's greates number eight.

The substitutes bench is also quite the star-studded squad, with an assortment of top talent all chomping at the bit to get on the pitch. Ireland captain Dan Sheehan takes a back seat to Malcolm Marx, with plenty of expectation on Sheehan to lead the men in green to victory over Australia, with regular skipper Caelan Doris side-lined with a foot injury. Ox Nche of the Springboks and Scotland tight-head Zander Fagerson are the replacement props, with returning Ireland and Munster lock forward Tadhg Beirne providing ample cover across the engine room and back row.

Italy captain Michele Lamaro then provides the specialist back row option, and completes the replacement forward pack with a Bomb Squad that even Rassie Erasmus would be proud of. The replacement backs begin with France's Maxime Lucu out to make the most of Dupont's enforced injury absence, with the versatility of Damien McKenzie covering both fly half and 15. The side is completed by Ireland's story of the Six Nations Stuart McCloskey covering the midfield, with the Ulster star set to be unleashed against the Wallabies tomorrow in Sydney.