From this year, a new competition that replaces the classic test matches: 12 teams, the Italian debut in Tokyo against Japan, then in New Zealand and Australia. In November everything is played at home. Finals at Twickenham
World rugby is changing shape. In fact, at least in even years, the canonical test matches will be replaced by a new competition: the Nations Championship, a sort of World League which includes the top 12 teams in the world – including Italy – who will compete in the two international windows of July and November. In fact, over the course of 5 months there will be all the teams from the Six Nations (Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and the big teams from the Southern Hemisphere: South Africa, All Blacks, Australia, Argentina, Fiji as well as Japan. A dense network of crossroads and great challenges: France, winner of the Six Nations, will test themselves against South Africa and the All Blacks, who in turn will face all the major European teams, and then the great classics such as England-New Zealand, Argentina-England, Australia-Ireland. The ranking that will arise from a formula that is nothing short of bizarre will outline the pairings of the Twickenham finals at the end of November, which will then draw the definitive ranking. For this edition (and probably also for that of 2028) there are no relegations in the World Rugby Nations Cup, the second division of the 12-team tournament where there are – among others – Georgia, Portugal, Samoa and Tonga. The Azzurri, like all European teams, will challenge the six teams from the Southern Hemisphere: Japan, New Zealand and Australia away, then South Africa, Argentina and Fiji at home. The tournament will be held every two years, the even ones, while in the World Cup year only the summer test matches will be played (used as preparatory tests for the World Cup) and in the year of the Lions tour we will return to the classic formula of individual test matches.
the formula
—
The 12 teams will be divided into two groups: one from the Northern Hemisphere with the Six Nations teams (Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and one from the Southern Hemisphere with the other participants: South Africa, All Blacks, Australia, Argentina, Japan and Fiji. The peculiarity of the tournament lies in the fact that each team only faces the six opponents of the other group, but the points it earns count towards the ranking of their group. For example, if Italy were to beat Japan on the first day and Wales were to lose to Fiji, the points gained would allow the Azzurri to stay ahead of the Welsh in the standings. At the end of this particular remote challenge, the two rankings will draw the framework for the finals, which will all be held in Twickenham between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 November: the winners of the two groups will face each other in the grand final that assigns the tournament, the second-placed teams will compete for third place, the third-placed teams for fifth and so on, until a ranking is drawn up with all 12 teams. The assignment of points is the canonical one: 4 in case of victory, 2 for a draw and 0 in case of defeat, with a bonus point available for those who score at least 4 tries and another for those who lose by a maximum of 7 points. Clearly, since there are no direct challenges between the teams in the same group, in addition to the bonus points, the points difference could also be fundamental, given that potentially more teams could win all the matches. For example, if South Africa and the All Blacks both beat all the European teams you would look at the bonus points first, then the overall points difference.
ITALY, THE CALENDAR
—
Gonzalo Quesada’s boys will be called to a series of important challenges not only for the tournament itself, but also to confirm the good things they showed in the Six Nations and in the latest test matches. The formula involves playing in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere and in the winter in Europe, so the Azzurri will always be away in July and always at home in November. Italy will make their debut on Saturday 4 July at 10.40am Italian time in Tokyo, against Japan, an always dangerous team that lost at Wales only with a free kick at the end of time and who beat Georgia to win the second pot in the World Cup, and who above all is led by that old fox Eddie Jones. Second match on Saturday 11 July at 7.10am Italian time in Wellington, against the All Blacks. Also considering the pitch factor, it is perhaps the most complicated challenge of all, also because the New Zealanders are unlikely to underestimate the commitment, both because they will start the new cycle with a new coach (Dave Rennie, who took over from the sacked Scott Robertson) and because after the Azzurri’s latest results no one takes Quesada’s team lightly anymore. The third match is the most fascinating in a certain sense: Australia-Italy will be played in Perth on Saturday 18 July at 12pm, with the furious Wallabies eager to take revenge after the defeat in Udine last November. The venues for Italy’s home matches are yet to be defined, as they will challenge world champions South Africa on Saturday 7 November at 5.40pm (they were in difficulty last year in Turin), then on Saturday 14 November again at 5.40pm against Argentina (who last won overwhelmingly in Udine in 2024) and finally on Saturday 21 November at the same time against Fiji, a team which has become increasingly stronger and more mature and which the Azzurri have not faced since 2017. The match of the Twickenham final will then be decided based on the position in the ranking: for example, if Italy were to finish fourth they will face the fourth in the Southern Hemisphere ranking.
THE COMPLETE CALENDAR
—
1st day, Saturday 4 July: New Zealand-France, Australia-Ireland, Japan-Italy, Fiji-Wales, South Africa-England, Argentina-Scotland
2nd day, Saturday 11 July: New Zealand-Italy, Australia-France, Japan-Ireland, Fiji-England, South Africa-Scotland, Argentina-Wales
3rd day, Saturday 18 July: Japan-France, New Zealand-Ireland, Australia-Italy, Fiji-Scotland, South Africa-Wales, Argentina-England
4th day, 6-8 November: Ireland-Argentina (Friday 6 November), Italy-South Africa, Scotland-New Zealand, Wales-Japan, France-Fiji (Saturday 7 November), England-Australia (Sunday 8 November)
5th day, 13-15 November: France-South Africa (Friday 13 November), Italy-Argentina, Wales-New Zealand, England-Japan, Ireland-Fiji (Saturday 14 November), Scotland-Australia (Sunday 15 November)
6th day, Saturday 21 November: England-New Zealand, Scotland-Japan, Ireland-South Africa, Italy-Fiji, France-Argentina, Wales-Australia
Weekend Finals London 2026, 27-29 November:
11th-12th place final and 5th-6th place final on Friday 27 November
9th-10th place final and 3rd-4th place final on Saturday 28 November
Final 7th-8th place and final for first place on Sunday 29 November.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
