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 on top.

The Nations Championship will take place every two years, outside of the Rugby World Cup and the 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 to play three rounds of fixtures, with every team playing a different rival from the opposing Hemisphere group. In November 2026, the Southern Hemisphere group will then travel north of the equator for the remaining three rounds. 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.

In July 2026, England will travel to the Southern Hemisphere to play South Africa, Fiji and Argentina before they face Australia, Japan and New Zealand in three massive test matches at Allianz Stadium in November 2026 for the final pool games.

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’
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.

While the Nations Championship Finals Weekend is not an RFU organised event, the Allianz Stadium has been chosen to host the first of these Finals Weekends, with three action-packed days of rugby double headers. Clubs will have their normal allocation of tickets at a reduced price for all of the above games, and the finals, only.

A ticket bought for any given final’s day gives you both finals played on that day, so if you buy a ticket for the Friday, you get to watch the 6 v 6 and the 3 v 3 finals.

You will be able to buy tickets for the 3 Finals days:
Friday 27 November, 6 v 6 final - KO 16:40 followed by the 3 v 3 final - KO 20:10
Saturday 28 November, 5 v 5 final - KO 13:10 followed by the 2 v 2 final - KO 16:40
Sunday 29 November, 4 v 4 final KO 13:10 followed by the 1 v 1 final - KO 16:40

If you are interested in any of the above games, both Pool and Finals, please contact me via email ASAP, and I will forward an application form to you, which will include prices for all games.
My Email address is: nev_ang2017@hotmail.co.uk
Cheers, Nev Atkinson