The Nations Championship is the new biennial international rugby union competition, first played in 2026 and created by Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR. It gives the July and November international windows a league table and a final, replacing standalone summer tours and autumn Tests in even-numbered years. It is not played in World Cup or Lions years.

How the format works

Twelve teams take part, split into two pools of six. The northern pool is England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales; the southern pool is Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. Each team plays all six teams from the opposite pool once, with three games in July and three in November. In July the southern teams host; in November the roles reverse.

Four points for a win, two for a draw, plus a bonus point for scoring four or more tries and one for losing by eight points or fewer.

The finals weekend at Twickenham

After six rounds, every team goes to a finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, from 27 to 29 November. Each side faces the team that finished in the same position in the other pool, with the grand final between the two pool winners on Sunday 29 November at 4:40pm GMT. A second-tier Nations Cup, featuring 12 teams including Georgia, the USA, Samoa and Tonga, runs alongside.

Where it stands after round four

South Africa lead the southern pool on 20 points after thrashing Italy 66-7 in Turin, with New Zealand level after beating Scotland 43-21 at Murrayfield. The finals weekend will decide the first champions, and in the UK every match is shown live and free-to-air on ITV. The full fixture list runs through 22 November, when the final round of pool matches is played.