| 2026 Nations Championship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Date | 4 July – 29 November 2026 |
| Official website | |
| www.nationschampionshiprugby.com | |
The 2026 Nations Championship will be the inaugural edition of the Nations Championship, an international rugby union competition featuring twelve men's teams. The teams are divided into two pools of six, and play a full round-robin of matches with the teams in the opposing pool across the mid year and end-of-year international windows, with the top teams in each pool advancing to a Nations Championship final in London.[1]
On 17 November 2025, World Rugby confirmed a second competition that would take place concurrently called the World Rugby Nations Cup.[2]
Although promotion and relegation are intended for a future date, there will be no promotion or relegation in the 2026 edition between the Nations Championship and the Nations Cup.
Format
The Nations Championship consists of two geographic pools or conferences; the first, the European conference, consisting of the Six Nations; the second, the 'Rest of the World' conference, consisting of the Rugby Championship teams, plus Fiji and Japan. Over two international windows each team plays all the teams in the opposite pool once, three ties at home, three away.[3] A cumulative north v south trophy will also be contested in this edition.[4]
The standard World Rugby points system applies; teams earn:
- 4 points for a win
- 2 points for a draw
- 0 points for a loss
- 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries
- 1 bonus point for losing by seven points or fewer
Championship division
Southern Hemisphere
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Final |
| 2 | .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png) Australia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Fiji
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Japan
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 |  New Zealand
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 |  South Africa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Northern Hemisphere
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  England
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Final |
| 2 |  France
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Ireland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 |  Scotland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 |  Wales
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Southern Hemisphere Series
Southern Hemisphere teams will host all the matches.[5][4] All three of Fiji's home matches are played at a neutral venue outside of Fiji.[4]
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Northern Hemisphere Series
Northern Hemisphere teams will host all the matches.[4][5]
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Finals
After the six rounds, a finals series will be contested over three days with each team matched against its equivalently ranked team in the other pool to decide placements.[6][5] All finals in 2026 are to be held at Twickenham Stadium in London.[5]
Eleventh place final
Ninth place final
Seventh place final
Fifth place final
Third place final
Nations Championship Final
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "The Nations Championship is here!". Nations Championship Rugby. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ "World Rugby Nations Cup to launch in July 2026 to transform international calendar". World Rugby. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ Dymock, Alan (24 October 2023). "World Rugby confirm Nations Championship details after vote". Rugby World. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d Henson, Mike (17 November 2025). "Nations Championship to feature north v south hemisphere contest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Hemispheres collide and rugby's future redefined with 2026 Nations Championship". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ Hughes, Matt (17 October 2024). "First Nations Championship rugby finals to be hosted in London then Qatar". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
