{"id":23069,"date":"2025-11-17T22:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/?p=23069"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:19:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T22:19:26","slug":"all-blacks-nations-championship-opponents-announced-as-new-global-competition-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2025\/11\/17\/all-blacks-nations-championship-opponents-announced-as-new-global-competition-confirmed\/","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks Nations Championship opponents announced as new global competition confirmed"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: The All blacks perform the haka during against Ireland during the Gallagher Cup test match at Soldier Field in Chicago. The two teams will meet again in New Zealand during the new Nations Championship in 2026. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox \/ action press)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The All Blacks will kick-off the Nations Championship era by hosting France, Italy and Ireland as they embark on an epic 2026 schedule that will include a total of 17 matches, including 13 Tests.<\/p>\n

The inaugural Nations Championship draw has been unveiled as the Southern and Northern Hemisphere\u2019s collide every two years in a 12-team, two-pool tournament format, including the Six Nations, SANZAAR nations, Japan and Fiji.<\/p>\n

After hosting three Northern rivals in July the All Blacks will head North in November to play Wales, Scotland and England, before taking part in the Nations Championship Finals Weekend at Allianz Stadium in London, featuring all 12 teams in six playoff matches, from 27-29 November GMT. Venues and kick off times for the All Blacks home schedule will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/nationschampionshiprugby.com\/<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

By the end of 2026 the All Blacks will have played Tests against eight different nations. This includes four Tests against the Springboks and four matches against South Africa\u2019s United Rugby Championship teams as part of Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) through August and September, and a Bledisloe Cup series against Australia in October.<\/p>\n

New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson said the Nations Championship would bring an edge to the traditional Test windows for both players and fans in what would be an epic international season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re entering a new era for international rugby and this is an incredible schedule for players and fans when you consider the Nations Championship, RGR and a Bledisloe Cup series spread across five months. Fans want to know who the best team is between World Cups, and the Nations Championship will deliver a champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the home front we are really pleased to host France, Italy and Ireland to start the Nations Championship era and to continue the home and away Bledisloe Cup rivalry. Every team will be out to put points on the tournament leaderboard early in the season with the goal of playing in the first Nations Championship final.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Blacks Head Coach Scott Robertson said:<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a unique season when you consider all the elements, including the tours we have ahead of us and the chance to host France, Italy, Ireland and Australia in the same year. Each Test we play against our Northern Hemisphere rivals will take on extra significance with Nations Championship competition points on the line as teams vie for a place in the inaugural Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere Final. There is a lot for the team and fans to get excited about in this schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

All Blacks 2026 Nations Championship schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n

*Dates are NZST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nations Championship Southern Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, 4 July\u00a0 v France
\nSaturday, 11 July\u00a0 v Italy
\nSaturday, 18 July\u00a0 v Ireland<\/p>\n

Nations Championship Northern Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, 8 November\u00a0 v Scotland
\nSunday, 15 November\u00a0 v Wales
\nSunday, 22 November\u00a0 v England<\/p>\n

Nations Championship Finals Weekend<\/strong><\/p>\n

28-30 November, Allianz Stadium, London.<\/p>\n

The Nations Championship explained<\/strong>
\n\u2022 The Nations Championship is a new international rugby tournament that transforms the existing July and November windows into a competitive cross hemisphere format every two years, outside a Rugby World Cup and Lions Tour year.
\n\u2022 Features 12 of the strongest nations in rugby with two groups of six teams. The Six Nations teams will form a European group representing the Northern Hemisphere, and take on the SANZAAR nations, plus Japan and Fiji, who form a group nominally representing the Southern Hemisphere.
\n\u2022 Next July, the Northern Hemisphere group of teams will travel to play three rounds of fixtures, with every team playing a different rival from the opposing Hemisphere group.
\n\u2022 In November next year, the Southern Hemisphere group will travel north for the remaining three rounds.
\n\u2022 Points are on offer across the July and November windows, to then dictate the table standings per Hemisphere group and inform the schedule of fixtures for the Nations Championship Finals Weekend at Allianz Stadium in London
\n\u2022 The Finals Weekend will see the No.1 ranked team in the Northern Hemisphere group play the No.1 ranked team in the Southern Hemisphere group in the final to decide the inaugural Nations Championship winner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: The All blacks perform the haka during against Ireland during the Gallagher Cup test match at Soldier Field in Chicago. The two teams will meet again in New Zealand during the new Nations Championship in 2026. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox \/ action press) The All Blacks will kick-off the Nations Championship era by hosting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugbyheartland-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rcn.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4wlzH-605","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19309,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2023\/08\/02\/the-top-5-players-to-look-out-for-in-the-world-cup-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":23069,"position":0},"title":"The Top 5 Players to Look Out for in the World Cup 2023","author":"admin_hland","date":"August 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As the Rugby World Cup gets ever closer, there\u2019s a lot of talk about which teams to look out for - but what about the players? 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