​The second round of Nations Championship matches produced more high-scoring thrillers and tense moments. Scotland gave South Africa a scare in Pretoria, with a 10-try contest that kept supporters on the edge of their seats. Henry Pollock grabbed a hat-trick as England stormed to a commanding victory over Fiji in Liverpool, while Ireland claimed a bonus-point win over Japan. Will Jordan set a new record for New Zealand’s most-credited try-scorer by crossing three times in his side’s dominant win against Italy, and France demonstrated their class by easing past Australia. Argentina celebrated three wins apiece for both hemispheres by beating Wales 35-21 in San Juan.
What is the Nations Championship? Who is leading? And when is the next round of fixtures? The Nations Championship features northern hemisphere nations that compete in the Six Nations—England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy—facing southern hemisphere powerhouses South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina, along with invited sides Fiji and Japan. Those with a keen eye will notice that Japan lies roughly 2,500 miles north of the equator, so it sits outside the Southern Hemisphere; however, the competition embraces a global format. Fiji are hosting home matches in the northern hemisphere to streamline logistics and boost revenue.
Each team will play every opponent from the opposite hemisphere once, with three rounds of fixtures in July and another three in November. Results determine rankings within each hemisphere, from first to sixth. The final weekend in November features a three-day playoff at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. The sixth-placed northern hemisphere side will face the equivalent southern hemisphere side, continuing in succession until the two top-ranked teams meet. The winner of that decisive match is crowned the inaugural Nations Championship champion.
There is also a Ryder-Cup–style hemisphere crown. Each match won during the playoff weekend earns one point for a hemisphere, except the clash between the two top-ranked teams that yields two points. The hemisphere that first reaches four points from the weekend is declared the winner.
Upcoming fixtures:
Saturday, 6 July
– New Zealand 34-32 France
– Japan 27-10 Italy
– Australia 31-33 Ireland
– Fiji 24-39 Wales
– South Africa 45-21 England
– Argentina 38-47 Scotland
Saturday, 11 July
– New Zealand 47-17 Italy
– Australia 26-42 France
– Japan 20-36 Ireland
– Fiji 8-73 England
– South Africa 42-28 Scotland
– Argentina 35-21 Wales
Saturday, 18 July
– New Zealand vs Ireland (08:10 BST)
– Japan vs France (09:40 BST)
– Australia vs Italy (11:10 BST)
– Fiji vs Scotland (14:10 BST)
– South Africa vs Wales (16:40 BST)
– Argentina vs England (20:10 BST)
North v South: the global battle for supremacy is proving tighter than ever.
Rugby Union Weekly notes that England were blitzed and outmatched by the Boks. The schedule continues with Ireland vs Argentina (20:10 GMT) on Friday, 6 November, followed by Italy vs South Africa (11:40 GMT), Scotland vs New Zealand (14:10 GMT), and Wales vs Japan (19:00 GMT) on Saturday, 7 November.