SANZAAR, the alliance covering rugby union’s major southern hemisphere nations, and Six Nations Rugby, the organizer of the prestigious European rugby union tournament, have announced they will launch a new men’s national team competition in 2026 that will take place in the existing July and November international rugby windows.
The new 12-team competition will take place in alternate years, outside of the British & Irish Lions tours and the quadrennial Rugby World Cup, and feature the four teams in SANZAAR’s Rugby Championship – Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – as well as the Six Nations sides – England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
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The next British & Irish Lions tour in 2025 will be to Australia, with that country also hosting the 2027 World Cup, leaving 2026 as the only gap for the competition. The next Lions tour will be to New Zealand in 2029, with the competition falling in the 2028 and 2030 gaps in the calendar before the 2031 World Cup in the US.
Two unions will also join the competition on an invitation-only basis via a “transparent selection process” managed by SANZAAR and supported by the World Rugby and International Rugby Players, the global representative body for rugby players.
The competition has been created in partnership with the World Rugby governing body and has included extensive involvement by International Rugby Players, the global representative body for rugby players, to ensure its addition does not congest club and international calendars, which are played in parallel, or overload players who are participating.
SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby will own and run the new competition, with World Rugby creating a new second-tier competition in 2030 to facilitate promotion and relegation matches. That competition will feature teams from Europe and the rest of the world, with SANZAAR and Six Nations Rugby taking an active role in connecting the two divisions.
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By GlobalDataIn a statement, SANZAAR and Six Nations said: “Establishing the two competitions will pave the way for promotion and relegation matches, contributing towards a valuable pathway for teams, and will support ambitions to sustain and grow the global game.
“The introduction of the new elite international competition is a testament to the strong ambition across all parties, motivated by delivering context and a stronger narrative around the July and November windows that can excite players and bring new fans to the game.”
The new competition comes after SANZAAR announced a revised strategic plan in 2020 to future-proof the sport and provide a new direction for the organization, including a brand refresh, new development initiatives, and a restructuring of club and provincial tournament structures.
Six Nations, meanwhile, concluded a long-term strategic partnership with private equity firm CVC in 2021, with the fund agreeing to invest up to £365 million ($493 million) in the annual competition in return for a stake of just over 14% in the commercial rights.
Image: Huw Fairclough/Getty Images
