2026 World Rugby Nations Cup
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| First season | 2026 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
The 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup is the inaugural edition of the World Rugby Nations Cup, a second tier rugby union competition for international men's teams, run by World Rugby, that will take place concurrently with the 2026 Nations Championship. It is due to consist of twelve teams.
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.
Background
[edit | edit source]In December 2024 it was reported that the second division would initially consist of the 12 teams that successfully qualify for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup through the qualification process, meaning all the qualified teams for the 2027 tournament will take part in the inaugural edition of either the Nations Championship itself or the second division.[1]
On 17 November 2025, World Rugby confirmed that the second division competition would be called the World Rugby Nations Cup.[2]
At the same time, it was announced that in Rugby World Cup and British & Irish Lions years, when the Nations Championship and Nations Cup are not played, 'cross competition matches' between the Nations Championship teams and the Nations Cup teams will be prioritised.
Teams
[edit | edit source]Teams that will compete in the 2026 Nations Cup are:[2]
| Team | Competition | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Afro-Eurasia pool | ||
| File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia | Rugby Europe Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong | Asia Rugby Championship | Asia |
| File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal | Rugby Europe Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | Rugby Europe Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | Rugby Europe Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe | Rugby Africa Cup | Africa |
| Americas-Pacific pool | ||
| File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada | Pacific Nations Cup | North America |
| File:Flag of Chile.svg Chile | Sudamérica Rugby Championship | South America |
| File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa | Pacific Nations Cup | Pacific |
| File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga | Pacific Nations Cup | Pacific |
| File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Pacific Nations Cup | North America |
| File:Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay | Sudamérica Rugby Championship | South America |
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Format
[edit | edit source]As with the 2026 Nations Championship the initial competition will consist of two broadly geographic pools:
- an America-Pacific pool, consisting of the four Americas teams plus Tonga and Samoa; and
- a European-African-Asian pool, consisting of the four European sides, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong.
Each team will play all the teams in the opposite pool across the summer and autumn international windows.
For the first two editions in 2026 and 2028, there will not be a finals day, and two champions will be crowned, one in each pool.
In addition, Samoa, Tonga, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong will play their home matches in neutral venues; in the case of Samoa and Tonga, in South and North America respectively and in the case of Hong Kong and Zimbabwe, in Continental Europe and England respectively, However Hong Kong's final match, against Tonga, will be played in Hong Kong as it is a convenient venue for Tonga in their journey back to the island. The Americas series will take place in the northern hemisphere summer, and the European series in the northern hemisphere autumn.[3]
Standings
[edit | edit source]European-African-Asian pool
[edit | edit source]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Champions |
| 2 | File:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | File:Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Americas-Pacific pool
[edit | edit source]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Champions |
| 2 | File:Flag of Chile.svg Chile | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | File:Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
[edit | edit source]Americas-Pacific Series
[edit | edit source]Matches will be held in the Americas region, with Samoa playing their matches in South America and Tonga playing their matches in North America.
Round 1
[edit | edit source]| 4 July 2026 |
| United States File:Flag of the United States.svg | v | File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal |
Round 2
[edit | edit source]Round 3
[edit | edit source]European-African-Asian Series
[edit | edit source]European teams will host all of their matches at home. Hong Kong will play their first two matches in Europe, with the third (against Tonga) being held in Hong Kong. Zimbabwe will host their games in England.
Round 4
[edit | edit source]Round 5
[edit | edit source]| 14 November 2026 |
| Hong Kong File:Flag of Hong Kong.svg | v | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
Round 6
[edit | edit source]See also
[edit | edit source]References
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