World Rugby's 12-team Nations Championship launched in 2026, uniting Six Nations sides with Rugby Championship teams plus Fiji and Japan; tournament splits six fixtures across northern and southern hemisphere from July-November before Finals Weekend at Twickenham on November 27-29
It has been labelled a "tectonic shift", set to shake up the world of rugby union, but what is the Nations Championship, what have been the results so far, and what is the schedule this November?
The Nations Championship is World Rugby's new 12-team tournament that pits the giants of northern and southern hemisphere rugby against each other on a more consistent basis.
The tournament is designed to align northern and southern hemisphere rugby calendars, guaranteeing high-profile fixtures to add more structure and meaning to the existing international windows between World Cups.
The Six Nations teams - England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy - will take on the four Rugby Championship sides - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina (SANZAAR) - with Fiji and Japan also representing the southern hemisphere.
Each team will play six matches: three in July in the southern hemisphere and three in November in the northern hemisphere.
Twickenham's Allianz Stadium will then host Finals Weekend from November 27 to 29, where the inaugural champions will be crowned.
Rankings for Finals Weekend will be determined by results from the opening six matches, with each northern hemisphere team playing an additional fixture against the correspondingly ranked southern side.
Friday November 6 Ireland vs Argentina (8.10pm)
Saturday November 7 Italy vs South Africa (11.40am) Scotland vs New Zealand (2.10pm) Wales vs Japan (4.40pm) France vs Fiji (8.10pm)
Sunday November 8 England vs Australia (3.10pm)
Friday November 13 France vs South Africa (8.10pm)
Saturday November 14 Italy vs Argentina (11.40am) Wales vs New Zealand (2.10pm) England vs Japan (4.40pm) Ireland vs Fiji (8.10pm)
Sunday November 15 Scotland vs Australia (3.10pm)
Saturday November 21 England vs New Zealand (2.10pm) Scotland vs Japan (2.10pm) Ireland vs South Africa (4.40pm) Italy vs Fiji (4.40pm) France vs Argentina (8.10pm) Wales vs Australia (8.10pm)
November 27 Sixth-place North vs Sixth-place South, Third-place North vs Third-place South
November 28 Fifth-place North vs Fifth-place South, Second-place North vs Second-place South
November 29 Fourth-place North vs Fourth-place South, First-place North vs First-place South
July 4 New Zealand 34-32 France Japan 27-10 Italy South Africa 45-21 England Australia 31-33 Ireland Fiji 24-39 Wales Argentina 38-47 Scotland
July 11 New Zealand 47-17 Italy Japan 20-36 Ireland South Africa 42-28 Scotland Australia 26-42 France Fiji 8-73 England Argentina 35-21 Wales
July 18 Japan 15-42 France Australia 57-10 Italy South Africa 43-0 Wales New Zealand 40-21 Ireland Fiji 17-33 Scotland Argentina 24-31 England
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Source: Sports
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