Former All Blacks star Jeff Wilson has praised the Nations Championship concept with the November Tests set to decide the inaugural winner.

The biennial tournament has been set up to put more on the line in the mid-year and end-of-year internationals.

It is split into two groups with the Six Nations teams in one and the Rugby Championship nations, plus Japan and Fiji, in the other.

July saw the southern leg of the competition take place while the upcoming matches are being held in Europe.

Inaugural Nations Championship concludes at Twickenham

The Nations Championship will then conclude with a Finals Weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham as the teams go head-go-head depending on where they finished in the group.

Currently, the All Blacks and Springboks are competing at the top of the southern section, but one of the sides could miss out on reaching the final even if they win all their games.

It therefore means that bonus-points and points’ differential may be just as important as the actual result.

“This is the beauty of this competition. All of a sudden, these Test matches have another purpose, they’re not just one-off games where you’re looking for a one-off result, it becomes part of a bigger picture,” Wilson told Sport Nation.

“We’re seen with South Africa, they’ve named their strongest side to play Italy because they recognise that they need to get bonus-points as well, they need to score four tries and win, and win well. The All Blacks are going to continue to do that.

“I think everything we’d like to see in our game is encouraged by the nature of this competition. It’s go out there and play, and if you get a bonus-point you’re chasing that number one spot.

“South Africa could put the pressure on us by doing a job on Italy early the game before.

“World Rugby have done something right for a change, they’ve created something that I think over the next three weeks is going to have great intrigue.”

Finding the right balance

All Blacks boss Dave Rennie will have to find the balance between rotating and getting the requisite result over the next three games in order to finish top.

Many do expect him to provide opportunities for more of the fringe members of the squad in the Wales clash, however, and Wilson namechecked a couple of players.

“I think there are a number of positions where guys are going to get their chance. Saula Ma’u might be one, who’s just sitting on the fringes there with no Tyrel Lomax not touring,” he said.

“If he gets his chance maybe to impress off the bench or start against Wales, you would love to see him build on the brief time he was with the All Blacks in South Africa.

“There are a lot of guys who maybe get just one opportunity on this tour and that might be against Wales, and what they need to do is continue to show that they can be game and Test ready when you’re not playing a lot of rugby.

“George Bell has joined the fray. He’s done some great things for Canterbury, he’s got a massive future this young man but he’s just got a lot of competition in the hooker jersey right now.

“He’s put himself in that wider conversation going into next year’s Super Rugby competition. There’s a lot of intrigue and a lot of opportunities for players.”