Ireland will open their Nations Championship campaign against Australia in the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, July 4th (11.10am, Irish time) in a new global biennial tournament featuring the top 12 sides in world rugby.
It will be split into two fixture windows, three rounds of matches for each country in July with the same number in November. A finals weekend, based on final standings, will take place in late November in London.
Andy Farrell’s squad open their July campaign in Sydney, then travel to face Japan in Newcastle on Saturday, July 11th (11.10am), Australia and their third game of the southern hemisphere excursion is to take on New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, July 18th (8.10am). All times are Irish. For those who love their rugby, they can watch Test matches morning, noon and night.
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When the tournament reconvenes in November, Ireland host Argentina on a Friday night, Fiji eight days later and conclude the group part of the competition with a game against the Rassie Erasmus-coached double world champions, South Africa.
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The tournament is a joint venture between Six Nations Rugby and Sanzaar. It turns the two existing July and November international rugby windows into one cohesive and competitive tournament. In a statement the organisers argued that: “The Nations Championship injects greater jeopardy and meaning into every fixture, with points, titles and silverware on the line.
“By the conclusion of the tournament, fans and players will know who the best team in the world is, and the dominant hemisphere in international rugby.
“The ‘Southern Series’ of fixtures in July sees the Six Nations unions, representing the Northern Hemisphere, travel south of the equator to face the powerhouse Southern Hemisphere nations.
“Kicking off on Saturday July 4th at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch; the first ever Test match hosted at the new venue, the Nations Championship opening weekend will deliver a blockbuster set of fixtures that pave the way for three consecutive ‘Super Saturday’s’ across July, giving fans back-to-back fixtures each match day, featuring the best players and teams in the international game.”
In November, the “Northern Series”, will see the remaining three rounds of group fixtures span Friday, Saturday and Sunday each weekend, culminating in a “finals weekend” in London at the end of November.
Tickets for the London finals weekend, are available on the official Nations Championship website. Virgin Media Television in Ireland will offer free-to-air coverage of the Tests.
The statement continued: “Adding an extra competitive dynamic to the Finals Weekend, in each edition teams will be competing to earn points for their group that will answer one of the oldest questions in the sport: which Hemisphere is dominating international rugby?”
Fixtures (all times, Irish)
Round 1
Saturday, July 4th: New Zealand v France, Christchurch (8.10am); Australia v Ireland, Sydney (11.10am); Fiji v Wales, Cardiff City stadium (2.10); Japan v Italy, Tokyo (9.40am); South Africa v England, Johannesburg (4.40pm); Argentina v Scotland, Cordoba (8.10pm)
Round 2
Saturday, July 11th: New Zealand v Italy, Wellington (6.10am); Australia v France, Brisbane (8.40am); Japan v Ireland, Newcastle (11.10am); Fiji v England, Liverpool (2.10pm); South Africa v Scotland, Pretoria (4.40pm); Argentina v Wales, San Juan (8.10pm).
Round 3
Saturday, July 18th: New Zealand v Ireland, Auckland (8.10am); Japan v France, Tokyo (9.40am); Australia v Italy, Perth (11.10am); Fiji v Scotland, Murrayfield (2.10pm); South Africa v Wales, Durban (4.40pm); Argentina v England, Santiago del Estero (8.10pm).
Round 4
Friday, November 6th: Ireland v Argentina, Aviva Stadium (8.10pm)
Saturday, November 7th: Italy v South Africa, tbc (11.40am); Scotland v New Zealand, Murrayfield (2.10pm); Wales v Japan, Principality Stadium (4.40pm); France v Fiji, Lyon (8.10pm)
Sunday, November 8th: England v Australia, Twickenham (3.10)
Round 5
Friday, November 13th: France v South Africa, Stade de France (8.10pm)
Saturday, November 14th: Italy v Argentina, tbc (11.40am); Wales v New Zealand, Principality Stadium (2.10pm); England v Japan, Twickenham (4.40pm); Ireland v Fiji, Aviva Stadium (8.10pm).
Sunday, November 15th: Scotland v Australia, Murrayfield (3.10pm).
Round 6
Saturday, November 21st: England v New Zealand, Twickenham (2.10pm); Scotland v Japan, Murrayfield (2.10pm); Ireland v South Africa, Aviva Stadium (4.40pm); Italy v Fiji, tbc (4.40pm); Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium (8.10pm)
Finals
Friday, November 27th to Sunday, November 29th, London.
