Background

The Nations Championship will take place every two years outside of the Rugby World Cup and British & Irish Lions Tour years. The tournament will see twelve of the strongest international rugby nations in the world form two groups of six teams.

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

In July 2026, the Northern Hemisphere group of teams will travel south to play three rounds of fixtures, with every team playing a different rival from the opposing Southern Hemisphere group in each round. In November 2026, the Southern Hemisphere group will then travel north of the equator for the remaining three rounds.

At the end of the fixtures played in the northern hemisphere each team will have played every team in the opposing hemisphere. At this point, the final position of the hemisphere groups will then determine who plays who in the finals weekend.

The Finals Weekend, 27/28/29 November 2026, will deliver wall-to-wall elite sporting entertainment to fans, with three days of double headers taking centre stage at the Allianz Stadium (Twickenham).

Fixtures at the Allianz Stadium

As part of this new Nations Championship, England will face Australia, Japan and New Zealand in three massive test matches at the Allianz Stadium in November 2026 for the final pool stages. The Allianz Stadium has also been chosen to host the first of its kind Nations Championship Finals Weekend, where hemispheres will collide as international rugby’s top twelve teams compete for domination.

The Nations Championship 2026 – England Home Pool Matches:

England v Australia: Sunday 8 November, KO 15:10
England v Japan: Saturday 14 November, KO 16:40
England v New Zealand: Saturday 21 November, KO 14:10

The Nations Championship Finals Weekend

For the first time, the summer and autumn international test matches are culminating in a festival weekend of rugby organised by the Nations Championship to determine which team, and which hemisphere, ends up on top. Each team competing will play six pool matches against the opposite hemisphere teams across the July and November windows, with points determining placement in the Finals Weekend matches. Each northern hemisphere team will face their equally ranked southern hemisphere team in a first of its kind weekend of double headers. Three days, six matches, twelve teams.

While the Nations Championship Finals Weekend is not an RFU organised event, the Allianz Stadium has been chosen as the host venue and members of affiliated RFU Clubs will have early access to tickets for all matches.

The Nations Championship 2026 – Finals weekend match details:

6v6 Final: Friday 27 November, KO 16:40

3v3 Final: Friday 27 November, KO 20:10

5v5 Final: Saturday 28 November, KO 13:10

2v2 Final: Saturday 28 November, KO 16:40

4v4 Final: Sunday 29 November, KO 13:10

1v1 Final: Sunday 29 November, KO 16:40

A ticket purchased for any given finals day will allow access to both matches played on that day.