Sanzaar, Six Nations Rugby to pull together for 2026 global competition to strengthen global game

Southern Hemisphere Rugby governing body Sanzaar and its Northern Hemisphere counterpart, Six Nations Rugby, are working on a new rugby partnership that'll launch a new international competition in 2026.

In a statement, the two rugby bodies are looking to have the tournament take place in alternate years in the June and November international windows between the World Cup and the British & Irish Lions tours.

The next British & Irish Lions tour will be to Australia, with Australia also hosting the 2027 World Cup, leaving 2026 as the only gap for the competition.

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The next Lions tour will be to New Zealand in 2029, with the competition falling in the 2028 and 2030 gaps in the calendar before the 2031 World Cup in the United States of America.

The tournament, which will be owned and operated by the two entities, is set to involve the four Rugby Championship teams in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina, with the Northern Hemisphere board bringing in their contingent of Ireland, England, France, Wales, Scotland, and Italy.

The statement said two spaces from the Rugby Championship's section of the tournament will be managed in a transparent process that will be overseen by Sanzaar and supported by World Rugby and International Rugby Players.

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The statement also added that World Rugby will create a second-tier tournament that will feature teams from the rest of the world and Europe, with Sanzaar and Six Nations Rugby actively involved in cementing the link between the two divisions.

In addition, World Rugby will create a second-tier competition, to