NO LONGER WILL there be regular jibes from rugby haters about the “friendlies” that Ireland play every July and November.
These summer and autumn internationals have always been fiercely contested, of course. The three-game July series and big November Tests have provided some of Irish rugby’s best memories.
Those summer tours will be missed. Two nations battling across three games on three consecutive weekends usually made for compelling rugby. There was nothing ‘friendly’ about those match-ups, while November Tests on home soil have often been a thrill.
These formats have served rugby supporters well, but those new to the sport could be forgiven for wondering why there was so much international rugby happening without a real trophy to play for.
And so, the inevitable is finally happening this year with the launch of the new Nations Championship, which combines the July and November international windows into one biennial competition. There’s silverware on the line now.
The Nations Championship won’t take place in World Cup years or in years when the British and Irish Lions are touring, so it will be on in 2026, then 2028, 2030, 2032, 2034, and so on.
The big driver for this is money. The 10 unions that own the Nations Championship — Ireland, England, France, Wales, Scotland, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia — believe that by putting a simple structure over these two Test windows, they can make it all more lucrative.
It’s certainly a cleaner proposition for broadcasters and though some people have misgivings, the Nations Championship should gradually ensure more engagement and cohesion over the course of the international calendar year.
Japan and Fiji are the two nations that have been invited to take part in the Nations Championship, ensuring it’s not lopsided by having only the four SANZAAR teams battling it out against the six from the Six Nations.
The Japanese and Fijians are defined as “invitational teams”, hence the need for them to give up some of their hosting opportunities.
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Ireland will take on Japan in Australia in July. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland will play Japan this July, but the game will take place on the Gold Coast in Australia, meaning Andy Farrell’s men will play the Wallabies the week before in Sydney and not face a long flight to Japan straight after.
Instead, they shift up the Australian coast to take on the Brave Blossoms, before moving on to New Zealand to play the All Blacks in Eden Park the following weekend.
In November, Ireland host Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa in Dublin.
After all of that, Farrell’s side will have a finishing position in the Northern Hemisphere table made up of themselves and the other Six Nations sides.
They’ll take on their equivalent team from the Southern Hemisphere table in one of six games that make up the play-offs weekend at Twickenham in London on the final weekend of November.
The victor of the game between the two table-topping sides from each hemisphere will lift the Nations Championship trophy.
In 2028, the play-offs weekend is due to take place in Qatar, with the US set to host it in 2030. So it’s clear that the play-offs will always take place at a destination venue.
In truth, it’s a simple competition format and will be easy to follow over the course of the year.
One of the biggest concerns was always going to be how this new competition potentially creates an even bigger divide between the leading nations and the next tier of international rugby.
World Rugby recently confirmed that the Nations Cup will also launch this year, made up of Canada, Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong China, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, Uruguay, USA and Zimbabwe, all of whom have qualified for the 2027 World Cup.
Spain are among the teams in the Nations Cup. Martin Seras Lima / INPHO
Martin Seras Lima / INPHO / INPHO
The Nations Cup will mirror the Nations Championship in format, and World Rugby says it will “provide an unprecedented level of competitive international rugby” for the teams involved.
Initially, when these competitions were floated, the talk was that there would be promotion and relegation between the two levels introduced in 2030.
But when they were finally announced officially in November, there was no mention of promotion and relegation.
The 10 Six Nations and SANZAAR unions that own the Nations Championship have no interest in leaving themselves exposed to dropping out of their own competition.
World Rugby had also initially promised that there would be a 50% increase in “crossover” games between the sides from the Nations Championship and teams from the Nations Cup in the odd years between the competitions.
That would hypothetically see Ireland playing more games against the likes of Chile, Samoa, and Uruguay in 2029, when there is a Lions tour and the Nations Championship won’t take place.
But the official World Rugby press release in November simplified things to say that “a fixture programme will operate between both divisions and respective unions” in 2027 and 2029. So we wait to see how it looks in reality.
It seems almost certain that if the Nations Championship is a big success and begins to bring in notably higher revenue for the 10 unions in charge, then the gap between them and the rest of the game will increase. It’s nigh on impossible to see how that wouldn’t be the case.
Yet it’s unclear whether the Nations Championship will really revolutionise rugby and entice broadcasters to start paying sums that they haven’t done yet.
Whatever about the financial side of the story, the new competition ensures Ireland and their peers have another piece of silverware to chase this year and beyond.
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This year marks the beginning of the Nations Championship era
NO LONGER WILL there be regular jibes from rugby haters about the “friendlies” that Ireland play every July and November.
These summer and autumn internationals have always been fiercely contested, of course. The three-game July series and big November Tests have provided some of Irish rugby’s best memories.
Those summer tours will be missed. Two nations battling across three games on three consecutive weekends usually made for compelling rugby. There was nothing ‘friendly’ about those match-ups, while November Tests on home soil have often been a thrill.
These formats have served rugby supporters well, but those new to the sport could be forgiven for wondering why there was so much international rugby happening without a real trophy to play for.
And so, the inevitable is finally happening this year with the launch of the new Nations Championship, which combines the July and November international windows into one biennial competition. There’s silverware on the line now.
The Nations Championship won’t take place in World Cup years or in years when the British and Irish Lions are touring, so it will be on in 2026, then 2028, 2030, 2032, 2034, and so on.
The big driver for this is money. The 10 unions that own the Nations Championship — Ireland, England, France, Wales, Scotland, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia — believe that by putting a simple structure over these two Test windows, they can make it all more lucrative.
It’s certainly a cleaner proposition for broadcasters and though some people have misgivings, the Nations Championship should gradually ensure more engagement and cohesion over the course of the international calendar year.
Japan and Fiji are the two nations that have been invited to take part in the Nations Championship, ensuring it’s not lopsided by having only the four SANZAAR teams battling it out against the six from the Six Nations.
The Japanese and Fijians are defined as “invitational teams”, hence the need for them to give up some of their hosting opportunities.
Ireland will play Japan this July, but the game will take place on the Gold Coast in Australia, meaning Andy Farrell’s men will play the Wallabies the week before in Sydney and not face a long flight to Japan straight after.
Instead, they shift up the Australian coast to take on the Brave Blossoms, before moving on to New Zealand to play the All Blacks in Eden Park the following weekend.
In November, Ireland host Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa in Dublin.
After all of that, Farrell’s side will have a finishing position in the Northern Hemisphere table made up of themselves and the other Six Nations sides.
They’ll take on their equivalent team from the Southern Hemisphere table in one of six games that make up the play-offs weekend at Twickenham in London on the final weekend of November.
The victor of the game between the two table-topping sides from each hemisphere will lift the Nations Championship trophy.
In 2028, the play-offs weekend is due to take place in Qatar, with the US set to host it in 2030. So it’s clear that the play-offs will always take place at a destination venue.
In truth, it’s a simple competition format and will be easy to follow over the course of the year.
One of the biggest concerns was always going to be how this new competition potentially creates an even bigger divide between the leading nations and the next tier of international rugby.
World Rugby recently confirmed that the Nations Cup will also launch this year, made up of Canada, Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong China, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, Uruguay, USA and Zimbabwe, all of whom have qualified for the 2027 World Cup.
The Nations Cup will mirror the Nations Championship in format, and World Rugby says it will “provide an unprecedented level of competitive international rugby” for the teams involved.
Initially, when these competitions were floated, the talk was that there would be promotion and relegation between the two levels introduced in 2030.
But when they were finally announced officially in November, there was no mention of promotion and relegation.
The 10 Six Nations and SANZAAR unions that own the Nations Championship have no interest in leaving themselves exposed to dropping out of their own competition.
World Rugby had also initially promised that there would be a 50% increase in “crossover” games between the sides from the Nations Championship and teams from the Nations Cup in the odd years between the competitions.
That would hypothetically see Ireland playing more games against the likes of Chile, Samoa, and Uruguay in 2029, when there is a Lions tour and the Nations Championship won’t take place.
But the official World Rugby press release in November simplified things to say that “a fixture programme will operate between both divisions and respective unions” in 2027 and 2029. So we wait to see how it looks in reality.
It seems almost certain that if the Nations Championship is a big success and begins to bring in notably higher revenue for the 10 unions in charge, then the gap between them and the rest of the game will increase. It’s nigh on impossible to see how that wouldn’t be the case.
Yet it’s unclear whether the Nations Championship will really revolutionise rugby and entice broadcasters to start paying sums that they haven’t done yet.
Whatever about the financial side of the story, the new competition ensures Ireland and their peers have another piece of silverware to chase this year and beyond.
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Competition Ireland Nations Championship NC2026 Rugby top tier world rugby