Rugby breaks new ground and it's an armchair fan's delight

It’s an absolute bonanza for armchair fans and organisers hope it will give the new tournament the sort of exposure only possible on free-to-air channels.

There is certainly much to look forward to in a fixture list which opens with New Zealand v France in Christchurch at 8.10am and concludes with Argentina v Scotland in Cordoba which kicks off exactly 12 hours later.

In between you can feast on Japan v Italy, Australia v Ireland, Fiji v Wales and South Africa v England.

It will be the same format for the following two Saturdays as north takes on south, with Scotland up against South Africa on July 11 and Fiji a week later.

This first half of the Nations Championship has been dubbed the ‘Southern Hemisphere Series’ and the basic principle is that the Six Nations teams play away in July, then host the big guns from the south in November. However, Fiji have opted to give up home advantage and will play their summer games in Europe, including the match against Scotland which will take place at Murrayfield on July 18.

‘It will make us better’

The idea is to bring some structure to the summer and autumn Test windows during years when there is no Rugby World Cup or Lions tour. It means an end to traditional summer tours to one country but it does provide a more even spread of fixtures and there is a trophy up for grabs.

“It's awesome for Scotland, I think,” said Fergus Burke, the stand-off, who made his debut against Fiji last summer and is looking to add to his tally of three caps. “It's going to make us better. And those are the games you want to be part of, playing Argentina in Argentina, South Africa in South Africa. It's as big as it gets, so it'll be cool to be part of.”

Gregor Townsend is also a fan and the Scotland coach has long lobbied for the opportunity to take on the Southern Hemisphere’s big hitters in the summer. Last year Scotland went to New Zealand but they didn’t get to play the All Blacks. Instead, they took on the Maori All Blacks in Whangārei and Samoa in Auckland either side of a defeat by Fiji in Suva.

In 2024, Townsend took his squad to the Americans for games against the United States, Canada, Chile and Uruguay. While it was a useful for tour for blooding some young players, it lacked the hard edge of playing a SANZAAR superpower.

A big positive

You have to go back 26 years for the last time Scotland played a Test match against the All Blacks in New Zealand and although it won’t happen this summer, all things being equal, it should take place in 2028 when the second edition of the Nations Championship takes place.

In the meantime, Townsend’s side get to take on the world champion Springboks at Loftus Versfeld next month and will host New Zealand in Edinburgh in November as part of the ‘Northern Hemisphere Series’, the second half of the Nations Championship which also sees Australia and Japan come to Murrayfield.

“Speaking just for Scotland, I think it's a big positive,” said Townsend. “We haven't taken on teams in the July window, the top teams in the world, for a while. Now we get that opportunity to go to Pretoria.

“Finn [Russell]'s got the most caps in our squad. He's not played South Africa away from home. We obviously haven't played New Zealand away from home for a number of years. This tournament gives us the opportunity to play those teams regularly.”

New tournament, new trophy

The Scotland coach also likes the north v south dynamic which will reach its climax on November 27-29 at Twickenham which is hosting the Nations Championship’s ‘finals weekend’. All teams should have played six games by then and the top team from the Northern Hemisphere’s mini-league will play off against their southern counterparts to become the inaugural winners and lift the freshly minted silver and gold-plated trophy which weighs in at 15kg and stands 67cm tall (including plinth).

All teams will have a game at Twickenham on finals weekend, with second from the north taking on second from the south, third versus third, and so on.

But it is in South America that the action begins this weekend for Scotland who head to Argentina to take on the side that mugged them at Murrayfield last autumn. Leading 21-0 in the second half, Townsend's side conceded five tries in the final 24 minutes to lose 33-24.

“That scar will be there for a lot of the boys,” said Burke. “Definitely took the wind out of the sails in November.”

It should certainly be a powerful source of motivation for the Scots who will head to Cordoba with a 36-man squad which is almost at full strength. Only Blair Kinghorn and Grant Gilchrist have been rested and Burke is confident the others will have plenty left in the tank despite a long domestic season.

“Yeah, for sure,” said the Saracens fly-half who will vie with Russell and Tom Jordan for the No 10 jersey. “I think when you change environments, you get kind of like another boost of energy. So, by the end of the Prem season, you're kind of hanging on and then you come into a new environment with new players and new energy and it almost tops up your tank. So, super excited for what's coming.”

2026 Nations Championship fixtures & format

The Nations Championship sees two groups of teams competing in a Northern versus Southern Hemisphere tournament format across six rounds, with three rounds of fixtures in July and another three in November. After the six rounds, a finals series will be contested over three days at Twickenham with each team matched against its equivalently ranked team in the other pool to decide placements.

Northern Hemisphere Series

Round 1 (all July 4)

New Zealand v France (Christchurch, 8.10am)

Japan v Italy (Tokyo, 9.40am)

Australia v Ireland (Sydney, 11.10am)

Fiji v Wales (Cardiff City, 2.10pm)

South Africa v England (Johannesburg, 4.40pm)

Argentina v Scotland (Cordoba, 8.10pm)

Round 2 all (July 11)

New Zealand v Italy (Wellington, 6.10am)

Australia v France (Brisbane, 8.40am)

Japan v Ireland (Newcastle, NSW, 11.10am)

Fiji v England (Hill Dickinson, 2.10pm)

South Africa v Scotland (Pretoria, 5.40pm)

Argentina v Wales (San Juan, 8.10pm)

Round 3 (all July 18)

New Zealand v Ireland (Auckland, 8.10am)

Japan v France (Tokyo, 9.40am)

Australia v Italy (Perth, 11.10am)

Fiji v Scotland (Murrayfield, 2.10pm)

South Africa v Wales (Durban, 4.40pm)

Argentina v England (Santiago del Estero, 8.10pm)

Northern Hemisphere Series

Round 4

Nov 6: Ireland v Argentina (Aviva, 8.10pm)

Nov 7: Italy v South Africa (Turin, 11.40am)

Nov 7: Scotland v New Zealand (Murrayfield, 2.10pm)

Nov 7: Wales v Japan (Principality, 4.40pm)

Nov 7: France v Fiji (Lyon, 8.10pm)

Nov 8: England v Australia (Twickenham, 3.10pm)

Round 5

Nov 13: France v South Africa (Paris, 8.10pm)

Nov 14: Italy v Argentina (Genoa, 11.40am)

Nov 14: Wales v New Zealand (Millennium, 2.10pm)

Nov 14: England v Japan (Twickenham, 4.40pm)

Nov 14: Ireland v Fiji (Aviva, 8.10pm)

Nov 15: Scotland v Australia (Murrayfield, 3.10pm)

Round 6 (all Nov 21)

England v New Zealand (Twickenham, 2.10pm)

Scotland v Japan (Murrayfield, 2.10pm)

Ireland v South Africa (Aviva, 4.40pm)

Italy v Fiji (Udine, 4.40pm)

Wales v Australia (Millennium, 8.10pm)

France v Argentina (Paris, 8.10pm)

Finals weekend (all games at Twickenham)

Nov 27: Northern 6 v Southern 6 (4.40pm)

Nov 27: Northern 3 v Southern 3 (8.10pm)

Nov 28: Northern 5 v Southern 5 (1.10pm)

Nov 28: Northern 2 v Southern 2 (4.40pm)

Nov 29: Northern 4 v Southern 4 (1.10pm)

Nov 29: Northern 1 v Southern 1 (4.40pm)