This is a small revolution in the international calendar. From this summer, the July and November test matches are no longer friendlies: they count towards the Nations Championship, a global competition created by World Rugby whose first edition begins on Saturday with New Zealand v France in Christchurch.

Twelve teams, two pools

The Nations Championship brings together twelve sides split into two geographical pools. In the north, the six Six Nations teams: France, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. In the south, the four Rugby Championship nations (New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina), joined by two invitees: Fiji and Japan.

The principle is simple: every northern team plays southern teams, and vice versa. The July and November international windows serve as league rounds, with a table in each pool.

Finals at Twickenham in November

The big innovation is the finish. After the six rounds, a finals weekend is scheduled in London, from 27 to 29 November, at Twickenham. The northern pool winner takes on the southern pool winner for the title, second plays second, and so on: six cross-hemisphere fixtures to close the competition. “Challenging the northern teams against the south one last time is very original. I predict this competition will be a big success,” said Fabien Galthié.

Every two years

The Nations Championship will be played in even years, those without a World Cup or a British and Irish Lions tour. After 2026, the next edition is therefore due in 2028. Odd years keep their major events, starting with the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

France’s schedule

For this first edition, France play three away matches in July: New Zealand on the 4th in Christchurch, Australia on the 11th in Brisbane, then Japan on the 18th in Tokyo. In November they host three southern-hemisphere sides before, potentially, the finals weekend at Twickenham.

The Fijian quirk

One oddity of the format: Fiji cannot host at home, as the stadium in Suva does not meet the competition’s capacity requirements. Their “home” matches will therefore be played at their opponents’ grounds: in Wales, in Scotland and in England, at Liverpool. Fiji thus lose home advantage for the entire competition. The calendar claims another victim too: England. They host Fiji in Liverpool between their two trips to the southern hemisphere. The result: close to 40,000 kilometres of flying this summer.