The fixtures for the 2026 Nations Championship have been officially confirmed, and England have been dealt a daunting opening to their campaign.

Fierce cross hemisphere rivalries will be put on the global stage when the Nations Championship debuts in July 2026. A landmark joint venture agreed between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR, to create the new biennial tournament, signals a watershed moment for rugby union, years in the making.

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The Nations Championship creates a competitive tournament format, injecting jeopardy and context into every fixture, on the way to crowning a tournament Champion, and deciding the dominant Hemisphere in the sport that year.

Ratified by World Rugby Council in 2023, the introduction of the Nations Championship is part of a broader package of reform to the global rugby calendars, which have been shaped by members from across the whole sport: unions, federations, clubs, leagues, tournament organisers, players and their associations, and World Rugby.

The balance and alignment between domestic and international rugby as of 2026 gives clarity and certainty to support game wide growth, and the Nations Championship is a fundamental driver for this.

In the Nations Championship, twelve of the strongest international rugby nations in the world, packed with the best players in the sport, will form two groups of six teams.

The Six Nations teams represent the Northern Hemisphere, and will face the SANZAAR nations, plus invitational teams Japan and Fiji, who complete the line up representing the Southern Hemisphere. 

Who will be competing in the Nations Championship:

Representing the Northern Hemisphere:

England 

France

Ireland 

Italy

Scotland 

Wales

Representing the Southern Hemisphere:

Argentina

Australia

New Zealand 

South Africa 

Japan

Fiji

2026 Nations Championship fixtures

4 July

New Zealand v France

Japan v Italy

South Africa v England

Australia v Ireland

Fiji v Wales

Argentina v Scotland

11 July

New Zealand v Italy

Japan v Ireland

South Africa v Scotland

Australia v France

Fiji v England

Argentina v Wales

18 July

Japan v France

Australia v Italy

South Africa v Wales

New Zealand v Ireland

Fiji v Scotland

Argentina v England

CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO

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