Barely born, the competition is already preparing to change. The Nations Championship, whose first edition is being played in 2026, will introduce a promotion and relegation system from its fourth edition, in 2032. The announcement, made by Sanzaar chief executive Brendan Morris, opens a door for the emerging nations.
A format locked in until 2030
Launched in 2026, the Nations Championship brings together 12 sides split into two conferences. In the north, the six Six Nations countries. In the south, the four Sanzaar members (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina), joined by two invitees, Japan and Fiji.
Each team plays the six sides from the other hemisphere, three matches in the summer and three in the autumn, before two finals and two trophies: one for the winner, one for the dominant hemisphere. That arrangement will remain unchanged until 2030.
A competition that will open up in 2032
It was Brendan Morris, Sanzaar’s chief executive, who revealed the reform on Friday, on the margins of the Japan v France match in Tokyo. From its fourth edition, in 2032, the tournament will include a promotion and relegation system.
A major change for a competition presented until now as a closed shop, with no way in for second-tier sides.
The Nations Cup as the antechamber
The mechanism will be built on the Nations Cup, the second division created by World Rugby. The teams finishing bottom of each hemisphere will have to defend their place in play-offs, against the winners of the two Nations Cup pools.
The winners will earn their ticket to the 2032 Nations Championship, the losers will drop to the tier below. Two second-division nations could therefore join the global elite.
A signal to the emerging nations
This opening answers a recurring criticism of the competition: the absence of any sporting prospect for developing nations. Sides such as Georgia, who have been demanding access to the best for years, will have a clear objective and a path to the elite.
What remains to be measured, between now and 2032, is the real effect of the reform on the world rugby order.
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