The Rugby Championship in 2026 is going on hold but the tournament’s future remains secure after a five-year Test calendar reshuffle.
The tournament’s governing body, SANZAAR, says the pause is due to other tours such as the new north-south two-part Nations Championship and New Zealand’s 10-match tour of South Africa.
It will return in 2027 as a full tournament, the first time in a World Cup year.
“By collaborating closely with our unions and broadcasting and commercial partners, we’ve developed an innovative calendar to deliver thrilling rugby experiences and set new benchmarks for the game,” SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris says.
“This new calendar for Southern Hemisphere rugby is all about bringing to the fans the highest level of world-class rugby and action.”
The competition resumes as normal in 2028 and 2029 amid the new Nations Championship and the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
The Nations Championship will kick off in July next year with the Bledisloe Cup to be played in October.
Australia has yet to announce who they will play mid-season next year although Fiji and Japan are reportedly due to feature.
“Rugby Australia is excited to enter into a new five-year cycle alongside our great rivals South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina,” RA CEO Phil Waugh says.
“We are particularly looking forward to the Rugby Championship playing in full from 2027 along with a new era of Bledisloe Cup, Mandela Challenge Plate and Puma Trophy competitions.”
“It’s a new dawn for southern hemisphere rugby, and we can’t wait for our fans to be part of this exciting journey,” Morris says.
“The future of southern hemisphere rugby is brighter than ever.”
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OLD SCHOOL RUGBY TOUR
New Zealand will play South Africa four times next year including a game on neutral territory, in a tour dubbed Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
The All Blacks will play four provincial sides with two Tests at Johannesburg and one at Cape Town; the fourth venue has not been decided yet.
The announcement has been greeted with enthusiasm by South African and NZ rugby fans in online forums.
“This is going to be something huge and something this generation will never forget,” Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said.
“These are the tours we’ve only heard of. To experience this for the first time, where it’s like a (British & Irish) Lions tour, is unbelievable for us as a group,” he says.
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett is also looking forward to the contest despite a record 43-10 loss to the Springboks in Wellington this year.
“The intensity is right up there, and it is shaping up to be a heck of a tour … We are looking forward to it.”
The Springboks are due to tour New Zealand in 2030.
NZ’s tour
- August 7 vs Stormers in Cape Town.
- August 11 vs Sharks in Durban.
- August 15 vs Bulls in Pretoria.
- August 22 vs South Africa (Johannesburg).
- August 25 vs Lions in Johannesburg.
- August 29 vs South Africa in Cape Town.
- September 5 vs South Africa in Johannesburg.
- September 12 vs South Africa (TBC).
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