Upcoming season or competition: 2026 Nations Championship | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023; 3 years ago (2023) |
| First season | 2026; 0 years ago (2026) |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Broadcasters | List of broadcasters |
TheNations Championship is a planned biennial international men's rugby union competition, which is scheduled to take place in themid-year andend-of-year international windows in even-numbered years, with the inaugural edition beginning in2026.[1]
The competition will consist of twelve teams, involving the currentSix Nations (England,France,Italy,Ireland,Scotland andWales) andSANZAAR (Argentina,Australia,South Africa andNew Zealand) unions, in addition to two invited unions,Fiji andJapan.[2] The competition will be held in even-numbered years, as these are the years when there is noBritish & Irish Lions tour orRugby World Cup, both of which are of prestige and commercial importance to the sport.[3]
The format of the competition will include a "European Conference", consisting of the Six Nations unions, and a "SANZAAR and Pacific Conference" comprising the SANZAAR nations, in addition to the two invited unions (Japan and Fiji). Each team will play the six nations in their opposing conference across the July and November test windows, with a grand final to be played at the end of the November window between the first-placed teams in each conference to decide the tournament champion.[4]
A second competition, run byWorld Rugby, will take place concurrently and will consist of twelve further teams, withpromotion and relegation between the divisions commencing from the start of the third edition in 2030.
With nopromotion and relegation in the first two editions, the following teams will contest both the inaugural tournament and the second edition.
| Team | Competition | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Hemisphere | ||
 England | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
 France | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
 Ireland | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
 Italy | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
 Scotland | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
 Wales | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| Southern Hemisphere | ||
 Argentina | The Rugby Championship | South America |
 Australia | The Rugby Championship | Oceania |
 Fiji | Pacific Nations Cup | Oceania |
 Japan[a] | Pacific Nations Cup | Asia |
 New Zealand | The Rugby Championship | Oceania |
 South Africa | The Rugby Championship | Africa |
| Ed. | Year | Finals host | First place game | Third place game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third | Score | Fourth | |||
| 1 | 2026 | England | TBD Twickenham Stadium,London | TBD Twickenham Stadium,London | ||||
| Team | 2026 |  2028 | 2030 | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Australia | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 England | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Fiji | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 France | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Ireland | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Italy | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Japan | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 New Zealand | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Scotland | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 South Africa | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
 Wales | TBD | TBD | TBD | 3 |
| Total | 12 | 12 | 12 | 3 |
The creation of the Nations Championship has received criticism for 'ring-fencing' smaller nations outside elite competition and narrowing their opportunities to play against top nations.[7] It has also been criticised for potentially devaluing the Rugby World Cup.[8] World Rugby's Chief Executive Alan Gilpin has defended against this criticism by stating “the suggestions that this just makes the rich richer are misplaced. This creates a better landscape” whilst adding that there will be “50% guaranteed more crossover fixtures” in non-tournament years.[9]
The following is the list of confirmed broadcast partners:
| Territory | Rights holder | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | [10][11] | |
| France | TF1 | [12][13] |
 Republic of Ireland | Virgin Media Television | [14][15] |
| Italy | Sky Italia | [16] |
| Japan | Wowow | [17] |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | [18][19] |
 United Kingdom | ITV[c] | [20] |
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