Nations Championship to open with six-Test Saturday
TL;DR
The Nations Championship will kick off on July 4 with a six-Test Super Saturday featuring matches between New Zealand and France, Australia and Ireland, South Africa and England, Fiji and Wales, and Argentina and Scotland.
Key points
- Nations Championship begins on July 4
- Six-Test Super Saturday format
- Matches include New Zealand vs. France and Australia vs. Ireland
- Fiji hosts Wales in Cardiff
- Argentina faces Scotland in Cordoba
Mentioned in this story
The new Nations Championship - a biennial series pitting northern hemisphere superpowers against their southern counterparts - will begin with a six-Test Super Saturday round of fixtures on 4 July.
Fans will be able to watch nearly nine hours of Test rugby, with kick-offs staggered throughout the day.
New Zealand host France at Christchurch's newly opened One New Zealand Stadium at 08:10 BST in the competition's first fixture, with Australia v Ireland (11:10) and South Africa v England (16:40) among the opening round's other highlights.
Fiji, who are staging their home fixtures in the northern hemisphere to ease logistics and maximise revenue, take on Wales at Cardiff City Stadium at 14:10, with Argentina facing Scotland in Cordoba at 20:10 in the day's final match.
The concept of a fixture-packed single day of action is repeated in the following two rounds of action, on 11 and 18 July.
Time differences mean that the action will straddle two days for fans in New Zealand and Australia, however.
"The schedule of fixtures and kick-off times across the tournament highlights the commitment to give global fans access to an incredible set of clashes and structured in a way that means they need never miss a moment of the action," said Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison.
The new tournament represents unprecedented collaboration between Six Nations and Sanzaar, who organise the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship.
Traditionally, northern hemisphere sides would individually organise tours for July - usually centred on Test series in a single southern-hemisphere nation. Southern-hemisphere sides would then travel north in November on separate itineraries for the autumn internationals.
The new format is an attempt to bring an overarching narrative to the Test calendar, outside of years involving a men's Rugby World Cup or British and Irish Lions tour.
The Nations Championship involves every Six Nations team playing South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Japan and Fiji once each, with fixtures spread over July and November.
The teams' results contribute to their position in a pool from their own hemisphere.
A finals weekend at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium follows, with teams facing off against their equivalent in the other hemisphere - for example, the sixth-placed southern hemisphere side takes on the sixth-placed northern hemisphere side, and so on.
Those play-offs will decide both the inaugural champions - the winner of a grand final between the sides top of their respective hemisphere pools - and, via a Ryder Cup-style points tally across the weekend, the first hemisphere trophy winners.
ITV Sport have secured the UK broadcast rights to the tournament.
Nations Championship fixtures
Saturday 4 July
New Zealand v France; 08:10 BST
Japan v Italy; 09:40 BST
Australia v Ireland; 11:10 BST
Fiji v Wales; 14:10 BST
South Africa v England; 16:40 BST
Argentina v Scotland; 20:10 BST
Saturday 11 July
New Zealand v Italy; 06:10 BST
Australia v France; 08:40 BST
Japan v Ireland; 11:10 BST
Fiji v England; 14:10 BST
South Africa v Scotland; 16:40 BST
Argentina v Wales; 20:10 BST
Saturday 18 July
New Zealand v Ireland; 08:10 BST
Japan v France; 09:40 BST
Australia v Italy; 11:10 BST
Fiji v Scotland; 14:10 BST
South Africa v Wales; 16:40 BST
Argentina v England; 20:10 BST
Friday 6 November
Ireland v Argentina; 20:10 GMT
Saturday 7 November
Italy v South Africa 11:40 GMT
Scotland v New Zealand; 14:10 GMT
Wales v Japan; 16:40 GMT
France v Fiji; 20:10 GMT
Sunday 8 November
England v Australia; 15:10 GMT
Friday 13 November
France v South Africa; 20:10 GMT
Saturday 14 November
Italy v Argentina; 11:40 GMT
Wales v New Zealand; 14:10 GMT
England v Japan; 16:40 GMT
Ireland v Fiji; 20:10 GMT
Sunday 15 November
Scotland v Australia; 15:10 GMT
Saturday 21 November
England v New Zealand; 14:10 GMT
Scotland v Japan; 14:10 GMT
Ireland v South Africa; 16:40 GMT
Italy v Fiji; 16:40 GMT
France v Argentina; 20:10 GMT
Wales v Australia; 20:10 GMT
Finals
Friday 27 November
Sixth-placed northern hemisphere side v Sixth-placed southern hemisphere side; 16:40 GMT
Third-placed northern hemisphere side v Sixth-placed southern hemisphere side; 20:10 GMT
Saturday 28 November
Fifth-placed northern hemisphere side v Fifth-placed southern hemisphere side; 13:10 GMT
Second-placed northern hemisphere side v Second-placed southern hemisphere side 16:40 GMT
Sunday 29 November
Fourth-placed northern hemisphere side v Fourth-placed southern hemisphere side; 13:10 GMT
First-placed northern hemisphere side v First-placed southern hemisphere side; 16:40 GMT
Q&A
What teams are playing in the Nations Championship opening round?
The opening round features New Zealand vs. France, Australia vs. Ireland, South Africa vs. England, Fiji vs. Wales, and Argentina vs. Scotland.
When does the Nations Championship start?
The Nations Championship starts on July 4, with a series of six Test matches scheduled for that day.
Where will the New Zealand vs. France match take place?
The New Zealand vs. France match will take place at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.
How long will the matches last on the opening day of the Nations Championship?
Fans can watch nearly nine hours of Test rugby on the opening day, with matches staggered throughout the day.
