Ireland’s schedule for the inaugural Nations Championship has been confirmed, with the men’s team set to face a demanding series of fixtures across both hemispheres in 2026.
The tournament format will see teams play a southern series in July before hosting opponents during a northern series in November, with the competition culminating in a finals weekend in London.
Ireland’s southern series will begin against Australia on Saturday, 4 July at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. They will then take on Japan on Saturday, 11 July, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
The tour will conclude with a high-profile clash against New Zealand on Saturday, 18 July at Eden Park in Auckland.
The action will then shift to Dublin for the northern series in November, where Ireland will host three visiting teams at Aviva Stadium.
First up will be a meeting with Argentina on Friday, 6 November. A week later, Ireland face Fiji on Saturday, 14 November.
The northern series concludes with a headline encounter against reigning world champions South Africa on Saturday, 21 November, a fixture likely to draw significant attention given the Springboks’ status at the top of the global game.
Following the completion of the northern series matches, the tournament will conclude with the Grand Finals Weekend in London from 27–29 November at the Allianz Stadium. Ireland’s opponent for that fixture will be determined by their final position in the northern hemisphere standings.
The Nations Championship represents a new structure for the international rugby calendar, bringing together leading teams from both hemispheres in a single competition format across the summer and autumn international windows.
All the games will be shown live and free to air in Ireland on Virgin Media.
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