Ireland ended their Nations Championship summer down under with a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand early on Saturday morning.

Andy Farrell’s troops could take some encouragement from their performance, but a combination of the All Blacks’ firepower and some questionable decisions ultimately resigned Ireland to defeat.

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This is the inaugural edition of the Nations Championship, a new endeavour by World Rugby to bring structure to the summer and autumn tours traditionally carried out by the world’s biggest teams.

It’s all building towards the finals weekend in November, and we now have a clearer idea of Ireland’s path to the 1st place final.

Here’s everything you need to know about Ireland’s Nations Championship permutations.

Nations Championship standings

Standings correct as of 12:00 on Saturday, July 18th.

Northern Hemisphere standings

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
Pts

1
France
3
2
0
1
116
75
+41
12

2
Ireland
3
2
0
1
90
91
-1
10

3
Scotland
2
1
0
1
75
80
-5
6

4
England
2
1
0
1
94
53
+41
5

5
Wales
2
1
0
1
60
59
+1
5

6
Italy
2
0
0
2
27
74
-74
0

 

Southern Hemisphere standings

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
Pts

1
New Zealand
3
3
0
0
121
70
+51
15

2
South Africa
2
2
0
0
87
49
+38
10

3
Argentina
2
1
0
1
73
68
+5
6

4
Japan
3
1
0
2
62
88
-26
4

5
Australia
2
0
0
2
57
75
-18
3

6
Fiji
2
0
0
2
32
112
-80
0

The standings are likely to change after the remainder of Saturday’s fixtures (Australia v Italy, Fiji v Scotland, South Africa v Wales, Argentina v England). We’ll keep this post updated as results filter in.

 

What’s the tournament format?

The Nations Championship comprises of two conferences of six teams. One of these is made up of the Six Nations teams, with the other comprising the four teams from the Rugby Championship, plus Japan and Fiji.

The “Southern Hemisphere” series concludes on Saturday, and saw each team play three teams from the opposite conference, with the Six Nations teams away from home. In November, home advantage will be reversed, with the northern hemisphere teams at home for three games against the remaining southern hemisphere teams they did not play in the summer.

Two separate tables are kept, and the two conference winners will play each other in the Nations Championship final

 

When is the Nations Championship final?

Finals will take place to decide each finishing position in the Nations Championship, with all games taking place at Twickenham at the end of November.

The headline event is the Nations Championship final, which will take place on Sunday, November 29th at 4:40pm

Here’s the full schedule (all games taking place at Twickenham):

Nations Championship final: Sunday 29th November, 4:40pm
3rd place final: Saturday 28th November, 4:40pm
5th place final: Friday 27th November, 8:10pm
7th place final: Sunday 29th November, 1:10pm
9th place final: Saturday 28th November, 1:10pm
11th place final: Friday 27th November, 4:40pm

 

Can Ireland still reach the Nations Championship final?

Ireland’s hopes of reaching the Nations Championship final are very much still alive, but they are likely to be overtaken in the table by several of their Six Nations counterparts before Saturday’s action is over.

We’ll have a clearer idea of the exact permutations as the winter series progresses, but the equation is simple: if Ireland finish top of their Nations Championship group, they will play in the 1st place final on Sunday, November 29th.

 

Ireland’s Nations Championship fixtures

Ireland have three remaining games in the Nations Championship, all of which will be played at the Aviva Stadium.

They have home advantage against Fiji, Argentina, and world champions South Africa in November, with the Springboks game already sold out.

Friday November 6th – Ireland v Argentina (8:10pm)
Saturday November 14th – Ireland v Fiji (8:10pm)
Saturday November 21st – Ireland v South Africa (4:40pm)