On Friday 6 November, the inaugural Nations Championship returns with three consecutive rounds of fixtures that will determine who faces off for continental supremacy.

Heading into the home stretch, France sit top of the Northern Hemisphere table with twelve points, while back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions South Africa are ahead of the All Blacks on points difference on the Southern Hemisphere side.

With three more weeks of action to look forward to, RugbyPass looks back on the major takeaways from the opening rounds of the tournament and previews what’s to come.

The Action So Far

Unsurprisingly, Southern Hemisphere heavyweights New Zealand and South Africa put down early markers on home soil. The Springboks scored the most points (130) and the most tries (20) as they swept to three home victories. Their aerial dominance, set piece ability, and electric wingers proved too much for the opposition and will take some stopping if anyone hopes to rein in the world champions.

Worryingly for other contenders, the Springboks physical dominance translates well to any environment, so the colder, wetter Northern Hemisphere winter should not concern Rassie Erasmus’ men as they prepare to bring home more silverware.

The All Blacks meanwhile had the most carries (599) and made the most meters (1767) in the competition. The Kiwi attack was in full flow as they overcame France, Italy, and Ireland; however, with flyhalves Ruben Love and Richie Mo’unga sidelined for the rest of the year, it will be up to Damian McKenzie to steer the ship in the Northern Hemisphere.

The All Blacks have shown weakness in the aerial battle, and their scrum was overpowered in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series against the Springboks. Opponents Scotland, Wales, and England will need to capitalize on these chinks in the armor if they are to overcome New Zealand and push their way up the Northern Hemisphere table.

Overall, it is honors even between the two hemispheres going into the back end of the competition. Both have won nine matches, and the points and tries scored are nearly identical. While defense continues to set the platform for victory, many of the matches have been high-scoring affairs, with the winners scoring just over 41 points per game.

In Antoine Dupont’s absence, France’s Maxime Lucu has taken on the scoring duties, netting 37 total points. Will Jordan remains the greatest try-scoring threat, with six already, while Italian flankers Michele Lamaro and Ross Vintcent have helped the Azzurri tackle more than any other side.

The Road Ahead

The Nations Championship gets back underway at the Aviva Stadium in a World Cup throwback between Ireland and Argentina. Los Pumas have broken Irish hearts twice in the World Cup knockout stages, and they will be looking to deliver a decisive blow that will help them vault up the Southern Hemisphere standings. Hooker Julian Montoya and Flanker Pablo Matera continue to lead Los Pumas physical approach.

The highlight of Round 4 will be second-placed Scotland against second-placed New Zealand in what is traditionally an attacking affair. Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks, but could go a long way towards taking the top spot from France by overcoming the Kiwis for the first time. Round 4 will close out with England taking on Australia at Twickenham. England have scored one more try than Australia, but the Wallabies have netted more carries, meters and offloads in the first three matches and will be looking to prove a point after yet more Bledisloe Cup anguish.

Round 5 will kick off with France hosting South Africa in Paris in a rematch of the 2023 Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final. Les Bleus will be looking to dominate against the side that took home World Cup glory from their grasp. To do so, they will need to get parity with the Springboks at scrum time and find a way to let loose Louis Bielle-Biarrey while containing magicians Cheslin Kolbe and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Meanwhile in London, Eddie Jones will return to Twickenham to take on his former side.

The regular stages of the championship finish on Saturday 21 November with England taking on the All Blacks (14:10 UTC | 9:10 AM EST), Ireland looking to get the better of South Africa (16:40 UTC | 11:10 AM EST), just as they did in 2023, and Fiji and Italy going head to head (16:40 UTC | 11:10 AM EST) in an effort to avoid finishing last in their respective tables.

The Format

The Nations Championship is split into two series across two international competition windows. The Southern Hemisphere Series, played during the July test window, has three matchdays hosted almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.

South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina hosted all three of their matches at different stadia across their respective countries. Meanwhile, Japan and Fiji elected to travel, with the Brave Blossoms playing two matches at home in Tokyo and one away in Newcastle, Australia. The Flying Fijians played all three of their matches in the home nations, taking on Wales in Cardiff, England, in Liverpool, and Scotland in Edinburgh.

Matchdays 4 through 6, titled the Northern Hemisphere Series, will be played entirely in the traditional Six Nations countries during the November test window.

After Matchdays 4 through 6 are complete, there will be a Finals Weekend taking place from Friday 27 November through Sunday 29 November. All twelve participating nations will play and the individual winner and victorious hemisphere will be decided.

The first match played on Finals Weekend will be a duel between the two nations that finish bottom of their respective tables. The second match played on Friday the 27th will be the third-placed Northern Hemisphere side against the third-placed Southern Hemisphere team. Saturday will see the fifth-placed sides and the runners up face off. The weekend will culminate with two more matches, the fourth-placed play-off in the early game, and then the title-decider, which will take place at 16:40 UTC (11:40 AM EST).

Fans across America can watch the action live and for free on RugbyPass TV.