There is a new tournament in rugby. It is called the Rugby Nation Championship and aims to take the place of the old friendly tests between national teams. It is possible to consider it a sort of World Cup over 5 months: the idea is to give a purpose to friendlies and test matches that are not loved by a lot of people and do not bring many fans to stadiums. Let’s see how this new tournament works.
The format and the participants
First and foremost, it is important to mention that this is the first time that the world will watch a Rugby Nations Championship, so the format may undergo some changes in the future. However, for now, the format and rules are as follows.
Two teams will enter the fray. The competition won’t be held each year but every two years (in even years: 2026, 2028, 2030…). The games will be played in July and November, the typical international windows in rugby, among the best 12 nations in the world, according to their ranking. To make it simple, the dozen will comprehend the teams that play in the 6 Nations: Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, plus the 5 bigs of the Southern Hemisphere (South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, Australia, and the All Blacks) and Japan. A complex table will decide the final phase that will go live in November at Twickenham Stadium in London.
The teams will be organized into two groups. In the first one, there will be the teams coming from the Northern Hemisphere, the ones that take part in the 6 Nations, while the second will encompass the other challengers. What is truly peculiar is that each team will face only the sides of the other group, but the points will count for its own group table. The winner will be awarded 4 points, the loser 0, and the teams that tie will bring home 2 points each.
Who are the favourites to win?
The novelty of the competition makes it very difficult to make any predictions. One might assume that the usual national teams are the favorites, such as the All Blacks or South Africa. However, other teams could surprise us in this new tournament. In situations like this, rugby fans can try to predict the final outcome by taking advantage of bonuses offered by bookmakers, such as skybet free bets, and comparing them on specialized industry websites and aggregators. If watching sports is fun, betting on them makes it even better.
It will be an intriguing pool of teams that has the potential to create unforgettable matches. The schedule puts France against Australia and New Zealand, while the All Blacks will face all the European sides. Classic matches like Argentina against England and Australia versus Ireland will be played, and after the first phase, to be held in the summer. Every team will also play in November: the winners of the two groups will be part of the Grand Final, while the two seconds will compete in a silver final for the second position, the two thirds will play a game for the third place, and so on.
The World Rugby Federation is particularly proud of this new tournament, since it was looking for a new competition to attract viewers during even years, when the World Cup isn’t played, and the teams from the South don’t have a chance to play for any silverware. The fixtures are already known, and the federation is actively promoting this new competition.
We can’t say we are not intrigued by this brand new championship. Rugby is meant to be played by national teams, and having another competition to watch the greatest players on Earth face each other, to defend and preserve the pride and honour of their country, is always worth it. Another thing that keeps us interested in this tournament is the fact that teams ranked 13-24 will play in a sort of Rugby Nations Championship B, and the World Federation didn’t exclude the chance of inserting promotions and relegations in the near future. This decision could add another layer of spice to the competition and get us to watch teams like Greece, Portugal, Samoa, or Tonga that are proud and determined but never get the TV time they deserve.
On our rugby-dedicated page, we will cover everything worth being covered about the new Rugby Nations Championship, from summer to fall, up to the Twickenham finals, which may become unmissable events soon enough, for rugby enthusiasts.
Article written by LR
