Nations Championship
| Upcoming season or competition: Current sports event 2026 Nations Championship | |
| File:Nations Championship Logo.jpg | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| First season | 2026 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Broadcasters | List of broadcasters |
The Nations Championship is a planned biennial international men's rugby union competition, which is scheduled to take place in the mid-year and end-of-year international windows in even-numbered years, with the inaugural edition beginning in 2026.[1]
Format
[edit | edit source]The competition will consist of twelve teams, involving the current Six Nations (England, France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and SANZAAR (Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) unions, in addition to two invited unions, Fiji and Japan.[2] The competition will be held in even-numbered years, as these are the years when there is no British & Irish Lions tour or Rugby 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]
World Rugby Nations Cup
[edit | edit source]A second competition, run by World Rugby, will take place concurrently and will consist of twelve further teams, with promotion and relegation between the divisions commencing from the start of the third edition in 2030.
Teams
[edit | edit source]With no promotion or relegation in the first two editions, the following teams will contest both the inaugural tournament and the second edition.
| Team | Competition | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Hemisphere | ||
| File:Flag of England.svg England | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of France.svg France | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| File:IRFU flag.svg Ireland | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| File:Flag of Wales (1959–present).svg Wales | Six Nations Championship | Europe |
| Southern Hemisphere | ||
| File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina | The Rugby Championship | South America |
| File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia | The Rugby Championship | Oceania |
| File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji | Pacific Nations Cup | Oceania |
| File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | Pacific Nations Cup | Asia |
| File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand | The Rugby Championship | Oceania |
| File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa | The Rugby Championship | Africa |
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Criticism
[edit | edit source]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.[5] It has also been criticised for potentially devaluing the Rugby World Cup.[6] 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.[7]
Broadcasting rights
[edit | edit source]The following is the list of confirmed broadcast partners:
| Territory | Rights holder | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia | [8][9] | |
| File:Flag of France.svg France | TF1 | [10][11] |
| File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand | Sky Sport (Sky Sport Now) | [12][13] |
Notes
[edit | edit source]References
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