Watch Nations Championship 2026 free on ITVX (UK) / Rugbypass TV(US) / Virgin Media Play (Ireland)Unlock your stream with NordVPN (save up to 75%)Nations Championship 2026: Saturday, July 4 – Sunday, November 29Watch Nations Championship 2026 live streams as the world's 12 best teams face off in the first northern vs southern hemisphere tournament of its kind. The new biennial competition unites the convoluted July and November international windows under one banner, bringing both silverware and substance to the table. In essence, it's a stripped-back World Cup with a Ryder Cup element – more on that just below.The northern contingent comprises the Six Nations sides, while the south is represented by the four Rugby Championship sides, plus invitational participants Japan (even though it’s actually in the northern hemisphere), and Fiji.Between them, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia have won all but one of the 10 editions of the Rugby World Cup, but while the back-to-back reigning champion Springboks continue to serve as the gold standard, the All Blacks and Wallabies have been in decline. France and Ireland, meanwhile, have emerged as genuine forces on the global stage.Argentina and Italy have shaken up the traditional order within their respective groupings, while Scotland and England are equally capable of going toe-to-toe with the best and embarrassing themselves against the worst.The southern nations have the more consistent schedule, and New Zealand have hit the jackpot by drawing home advantage for their clashes with Ireland and France. The northern and southern hemisphere teams will each face off, either at home or away, across six rounds of fixtures, after which the geographic group standings will determine the matchups on Finals Weekend, a three-day festival that will culminate in the best of the north facing the best of the south in the Nations Championship decider.The second-, third-, fourth, fifth- and sixth-placed teams will each face their opposite number too, with the results contributing to a first-to-four, Ryder Cup-style Hemisphere Group Challenge running parallel to the primary competition. Every Finals Weekend game will be worth one point, but the Nations Championship final will be worth two. Similarly, any games that end in a draw will go to a 10-minute period of extra time with a Golden Goal-style Golden Point, apart from the final, which will go to two 10-minute periods of extra time, followed by a place-kicking shootout if the teams still can't be separated. Here's how to watch Nations Championship 2026 from anywhere in the world. Nations Championship schedule 2026