2026 World Rugby Nations Cup

For the concurrent first tier competition organised by the Six Nations and SANZAAR, see 2026 Nations Championship.

2026 World Rugby Nations Cup

Sport	Rugby union
First season	2026;1 year's time (2026)
No. of teams	12

The 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup is the inaugural edition of the World Rugby Nations Cup, a second tier rugby union competition for international men's teams, run by World Rugby, that will take place concurrently with the 2026 Nations Championship. It is due to consist of twelve teams.

Although promotion and relegation are intended for a future date, there will be no promotion or relegation in the 2026 edition between the Nations Championship and the Nations Cup.

Background

In December 2024 it was reported that the second division would initially consist of the 12 teams that successfully qualify for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup through the qualification process, meaning all the qualified teams for the 2027 tournament will take part in the inaugural edition of either the Nations Championship itself or the second division. ^[1]

On 17 November 2025, World Rugby confirmed that the second division competition would be called the World Rugby Nations Cup. ^[2]

At the same time, it was announced that in Rugby World Cup and British & Irish Lions years, when the Nations Championship and Nations Cup are not played, 'cross competition matches' between the Nations Championship teams and the Nations Cup teams will be prioritised.

Teams

Teams that will compete in the 2026 Nations Cup are: ^[2]

Team	Competition	Region
Afro-Eurasia pool
Georgia	Rugby Europe Championship	Europe
Hong Kong	Asia Rugby Championship	Asia
Portugal	Rugby Europe Championship	Europe
Romania	Rugby Europe Championship	Europe
Spain	Rugby Europe Championship	Europe
Zimbabwe	Rugby Africa Cup	Africa
Americas-Pacific pool
Canada	Pacific Nations Cup	North America
Chile	Sudamérica Rugby Championship	South America
Samoa	Pacific Nations Cup	Pacific
Tonga	Pacific Nations Cup	Pacific
United States	Pacific Nations Cup	North America
Uruguay	Sudamérica Rugby Championship	South America

Format

As with the 2026 Nations Championship the initial competition will consist of two broadly geographic pools:

• an America-Pacific pool, consisting of the four Americas teams plus Tonga and Samoa; and
• a European-African-Asian pool, consisting of the four European sides, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong.

Each team will play all the teams in the opposite pool across the summer and autumn international windows.

For the first two editions in 2026 and 2028, there will not be a finals day, and two champions will be crowned, one in each pool.

In addition, Samoa, Tonga, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong will play their home matches in neutral venues; in the case of Samoa and Tonga, in the Americas and in the case of Hong Kong and Zimbabwe, in Europe. The Americas series will take place in the northern hemisphere summer, and the European series in the northern hemisphere autumn. ^[3]

Standings

European-African-Asian pool

^[3]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champion
2	Hong Kong	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Zimbabwe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 4 July 2026. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Americas-Pacific pool

^[3]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champion
2	Chile	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Samoa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Tonga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Uruguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 4 July 2026. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• 2026 Nations Championship

References

1. Kelleher, Will (12 December 2024). "England risk treacherous World Cup draw if results don't improve next year" . The Times. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
2. "World Rugby Nations Cup to launch in July 2026 to transform international calendar". World Rugby. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
3. News.com, Americas Rugby (17 November 2025). "Canada, Chile, Uruguay and USA all in 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup". AmericasRugbyNews.com. Retrieved 20 November 2025.