Nations Championship fixtures, results & standings
England outclassed by South Africa in Nations Championship
- Published
Ireland and Wales won their Nations Championship openers against Australia and Fiji, while England were comfortably beaten by South Africa at Ellis Park.
New Zealand edged out France in Christchurch while Japan beat Italy as the new tournament got under way on Saturday.
Scotland avenged their November defeat in a high-scoring match against Argentina in the final game of the opening round.
What is the Nations Championship? Who is winning? And when is next round of fixtures?
What is the Nations Championship?
How does the Nations Championship work?
The Nations Championship pits the northern hemisphere teams who compete in the Six Nations - England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy - against southern hemisphere giants South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, plus invited sides Fiji and Japan.
The geographically observant will note that Japan is actually about 2,500 miles north of the equator, so doesn't sit in the southern hemisphere. But the sport is rolling with it.
Fiji are staging their home fixtures in the northern hemisphere to ease logistics and maximise revenue.
All teams will play each of the six in the opposing hemisphere once, with three rounds of fixtures staged in July and another three in November.
Their results will rank the teams within their own hemisphere, from one to six.
On the final weekend in November, there is a three-day play-off event staged at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. The sixth-placed team in the northern hemisphere plays off against the equivalent in the southern hemisphere standings and so on, culminating in the two top-ranked sides taking each other on.
The winner of that final match is crowned the inaugural Nations Championship winner.
However, there is also a parallel, Ryder-Cup style hemisphere title. The winner of each of the matches on the play-offs weekend will earn one point for their hemisphere, except for the contest between the two top-ranked teams which delivers two.
The first hemisphere to earn four points over the weekend will be crowned winners.
Highlights: Ireland defeat Wallabies in Nations Championship
Summer fixtures & results
Saturday, 6 July
Japan 27-10 Italy
Saturday, 11 July
New Zealand v Italy (06:10 BST)
Australia v France (08:40 BST)
Japan v Ireland (11:10 BST)
Fiji v England (14:10 BST)
South Africa v Scotland (16:40 BST)
Argentina v Wales (20:10 BST)
Saturday, 18 July
New Zealand v Ireland (08:10 BST)
Japan v France (09:40 BST)
Australia v Italy (11:10 BST)
Fiji v Scotland (14:10 BST)
South Africa v Wales (16:40 BST)
Argentina v England (20:10 BST)
Standings
Highlights: Fiji 24-39 Wales
Autumn fixtures
Friday, 6 November
Ireland v Argentina (20:10 GMT)
Saturday, 7 November
Italy v South Africa (11:40 GMT)
Scotland v New Zealand (14:10 GMT)
Wales v Japan (16:40 GMT)
France v Fiji (20:10 GMT)
Sunday, 8 November
England v Australia (15:10 GMT)
Friday, 13 November
France v South Africa (20:10 GMT)
Saturday, 14 November
Italy v Argentina (11:40 GMT)
Wales v New Zealand (14:10 GMT)
England v Japan (16:40 GMT)
Ireland v Fiji (20:10 GMT)
Sunday, 15 November
Scotland v Australia (15:10 GMT)
Saturday, 21 November
England v New Zealand (14:10 GMT)
Scotland v Japan (14:10 GMT)
Ireland v South Africa (16:40 GMT)
Italy v Fiji (16:40 GMT)
France v Argentina (20:10 GMT)
Wales v Australia (20:10 GMT)
Friday, 27 November (Finals Weekend)
27 November
Sixth-place North v Sixth-place South (16:40 GMT)
Third-place North v Third-place South (20:10 GMT)
28 November
Fifth-place North v Fifth-place South (13:10 GMT)
Second-place North v Second-place South (16:40 GMT)
29 November
Fourth-place North v Fourth-place South (13:10 GMT)
First-place North v First-place South (16:40 GMT)
