It has been labelled a "tectonic shift", set to shake up the world of rugby union, but what is the Nations Championship, what have been the results so far, and what is the schedule this November? The Nations Championship is World Rugby's new 12-team tournament that pits the giants of northern and southern hemisphere rugby against each other on a more consistent basis. The tournament is designed to align northern and southern hemisphere rugby calendars, guaranteeing high-profile fixtures to add more structure and meaning to the existing international windows between World Cups.
The Six Nations teams - England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy - will take on the four Rugby Championship sides - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina (SANZAAR) - with Fiji and Japan also representing the southern hemisphere. Each team will play six matches: three in July in the southern hemisphere and three in November in the northern hemisphere. Twickenham's Allianz Stadium will then host Finals Weekend from November 27 to 29, where the inaugural champions will be crowned.
Rankings for Finals Weekend will be determined by results from the opening six matches, with each northern hemisphere team playing an additional fixture against the correspondingly ranked southern side. Friday November 6Ireland vs Argentina (8.10pm) Saturday November 7Italy vs South Africa (11.40am)Scotland vs New Zealand (2.10pm)Wales vs Japan (4.40pm)France vs Fiji (8.10pm) Sunday November 8England vs Australia (3.10pm) Friday November 13France vs South Africa (8.10pm) Saturday November 14Italy vs Argentina (11.40am)Wales vs New Zealand (2.10pm)England vs Japan (4.40pm)Ireland vs Fiji (8.10pm) Sunday November 15Scotland vs Australia (3.10pm) Saturday November 21England vs New Zealand (2.10pm)Scotland vs Japan (2.10pm)Ireland vs South Africa (4.40pm)Italy vs Fiji (4.40pm)France vs Argentina (8.10pm)Wales vs Australia (8.10pm) November 27Sixth-place North vs Sixth-place South, Third-place North vs Third-place South November 28Fifth-place North vs Fifth-place South, Second-place North vs Second-place South November 29Fourth-place North vs Fourth-place South, First-place North vs First-place South July 4New Zealand 34-32 FranceJapan 27-10 ItalySouth Africa 45-21 EnglandAustralia 31-33 IrelandFiji 24-39 WalesArgentina 38-47 Scotland July 11New Zealand 47-17 ItalyJapan 20-36 IrelandSouth Africa 42-28 ScotlandAustralia 26-42 FranceFiji 8-73 EnglandArgentina 35-21 Wales July 18Japan 15-42 FranceAustralia 57-10 ItalySouth Africa 43-0 WalesNew Zealand 40-21 IrelandFiji 17-33 ScotlandArgentina 24-31 England
Extract — continue reading at the source.
