Nations Championship To Have North V South Finale

The Twickenham finale of adjacent year's caller Nations Championship arena will pit nan northbound and southbound of world rugby against each different successful a title to beryllium nan game's ascendant hemisphere.

The biennial 12-team arena comprises six rounds of matches crossed nan summertime and autumn Test windows earlier 3 double-header fixture days connected 27-29 November astatine Allianz Stadium to rank nations and crown champions.

The results from nan 'finals weekend' will besides lend to a parallel contest, to determine which hemisphere prevails overall.

The Six Nations teams will beryllium nan bluish hemisphere representatives, pinch South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan arsenic their opposition.

Southern hemisphere teams person won 9 of nan 10 men's Rugby World Cups, pinch England's triumph successful 2003 a solitary occurrence for nan north. However, nan world rankings are divided much evenly - pinch 5 teams from each hemisphere successful nan apical 10.

The first information of Nations Championship matches, connected Saturday, 4 July, includes a clutch of header fixtures - pinch South Africa hosting England, France travelling to New Zealand and Australia facing Ireland.

Fiji are group to play their location matches astatine neutral grounds, fixed nan logistical difficulties of recreation to nan Pacific Islands and nan expertise to maximise gross astatine larger grounds elsewhere.

England's lucifer against Fiji, successful nan 2nd information of fixtures, will beryllium played successful South Africa, giving Steve Borthwick's broadside an extended enactment successful nan state earlier they alert connected to look Argentina.

Organisers, who will now commencement nan hunt for broadcasters and sponsors, judge a clearer building - a communicative that builds towards a finals play and a centralised revenue-sharing exemplary - will make tens of millions much pounds for nan teams taking part.

"Rugby's strongest nations person collaborated pinch a clear imagination to turn nan game, by challenging accepted ways of operating to create a tourney building pinch genuine world relevance, which will unlock nan existent worth of nan sport," said Six Nations main executive Tom Harrison, hailing nan Nations Championship arsenic a "tectonic shift" successful nan sport.

"The world's biggest and champion championships are defined by aggravated sporting drama, and nan Nations Championship will guidelines alongside these.

"The Finals Weekend will adhd a wholly caller magnitude for fans, and promises to create an unthinkable spectacle, crown champions, and enactment arsenic a catalyst to turn rugby's reach, globally.

"By bringing together nan champion teams and players successful nan athletics and injecting different furniture to nan fierce cross-hemisphere rivalries, nan Nations Championship will return world rugby to caller heights."

The arena will beryllium held successful each twelvemonth that does not characteristic a men's Rugby World Cup aliases a British and Irish Lions tour.

The 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium tin tie connected London's ample southern-hemisphere organization for nan finals of nan inaugural edition.

More than 80,000 watched a Rugby World Cup warm-up lucifer betwixt South Africa and New Zealand location successful August 2023.

However, location is an ambition to return early finals to caller destinations.

It has been speculated that a big successful nan Middle East successful 2028, and successful nan United States successful 2030, would onslaught a equilibrium betwixt maximising revenues and spreading nan crippled into caller markets.

The Nations Championship will "democratise" nan almanac for those taking part, pinch lower-profile nations guaranteed matches against nan game's biggest draws.

The caller event, which is portion of a much intimately aligned world almanac signed disconnected by World Rugby successful 2023, will nevertheless limit opportunities for accepted tours - connected which visiting teams play aggregate Tests against their hosts - and standalone autumn internationals.

South Africa and New Zealand person bucked that inclination by announcing they will embark connected multi-match trips to each different connected a four-yearly basis.

The constitution of nan Nations Championship, on pinch a Club World Cup that will beryllium staged for nan first clip successful 2028, person travel amid an progressively competitory conflict for rugby's apical stars.

Start-up title R360, fronted by ex-England centre Mike Tindall and backed by backstage investment, intends to motorboat successful October 2026 pinch 8 men's franchise teams and a globetrotting itinerary.

England, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Scotland, Australia, South Africa and Italy issued a broad prohibition connected selecting immoderate R360 recruits for their nationalist teams successful October.

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

6-8 November

Ireland v Argentina

Scotland v New Zealand

France v Fiji

Italy v South Africa

Wales v Japan

England v Australia

13-15 November

France v South Africa

Wales v New Zealand

Ireland v Fiji

Italy v Argentina

England v Japan

Scotland v Australia

21 November

England v New Zealand

Ireland v South Africa

France v Argentina

Scotland v Japan

Italy v Fiji

Wales v Australia

Finals Weekend

27 November

Sixth-place North v Sixth-place South

Third-place North v Third-place South

28 November

Fifth-place North v Fifth-place South

Second-place North v Second-place South

29 November

Fourth-place North v Fourth-place South

First-place North v First-place South

There are 2 blocks of trans-equatorial fixtures, pinch 3 played successful July successful nan confederate hemisphere and different 3 played successful November successful nan north.

After each squad has played nan different six from nan opposing hemisphere once, they are classed wrong their ain hemisphere.

The finals play successful London will commencement pinch nan sixth-placed bluish hemisphere broadside taking connected their confederate hemisphere equivalent, and culminate successful nan 2 group winners taking each different connected for nan title.

The results connected nan finals play will besides lend to a northbound v southbound wide people and title.

World Rugby will beryllium launching a "second division" type of nan tourney and, while location is nary imaginable of relegation aliases promotion betwixt nan two, it is hoped up-and-coming nations specified arsenic Georgia, Spain and Uruguay, classed 11th, 14th and 15th respectively, and nan likes of Samoa, Tonga and nan United States will use from games against top-tier nations connected years erstwhile nan Nations Championship is not being staged.