Nations Championship: Schedule as inaugural tournament gears up for finals — SkimNews
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- Nations Championship pits the Six Nations' England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy against South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, plus Fiji and Japan; every side plays six matches — three in July in the southern hemisphere and three in November in the north.
- Twickenham hosts the three-day Finals Weekend from November 27 to 29 at its Allianz Stadium, where the inaugural champions will be crowned, with the first-ranked northern and southern sides meeting on November 29.
- Finals Weekend places are set by standings from the opening six matches, with each northern hemisphere team playing an additional fixture against the correspondingly ranked southern side: sixth vs sixth and third vs third on November 27, fifth vs fifth and second vs second on November 28, fourth vs fourth and first vs first on November 29.
- England lost 45-21 to South Africa on July 4, then routed Fiji 73-8 on July 11 and beat Argentina 31-24 on July 18; France also stumbled, losing 34-32 to New Zealand on July 4 before beating Australia 42-26 and Japan 42-15.
- Australia beat Italy 57-10 on July 18 and France 42-26 on July 11, while South Africa blanked Wales 43-0 on July 18 after wins over England 45-21 and Scotland 42-28.
- Ireland beat Japan 36-20 on July 11 after edging Australia 33-31 on July 4, but lost 40-21 to New Zealand on July 18; New Zealand also beat France 34-32 and Italy 47-17, while Scotland beat Argentina 47-38 and Fiji 33-17 and Wales beat Fiji 39-24.
- November 21 closes the northern-hemisphere phase with six matches — England vs New Zealand, Scotland vs Japan, Ireland vs South Africa, Italy vs Fiji, France vs Argentina and Wales vs Australia — after a November 6-8 opening that included Ireland vs Argentina, Scotland vs New Zealand and England vs Australia.
Why it matters: England and France both opened July with defeats — 45-21 to South Africa, 34-32 to New Zealand — while South Africa blanked Wales 43-0 and Australia beat Italy 57-10. With Finals Weekend places at Twickenham, November 27-29, set by standings from the opening six matches plus a rank-matched playoff, July's margins already shape who lines up for the title.
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