Nations Championship 2026: November Fixtures, the Tables and Finals Weekend

The tables after the July window

The July window of Nations Championship rugby was played in the south, and the hosts did the damage at the top. South Africa and New Zealand won all three matches with a try bonus each time. Every northern team except Wales and Italy won twice.

Northern pool

Southern pool

The margins tell more than the wins. New Zealand beat France 34–32 in Christchurch and Australia lost 31–33 to Ireland in Sydney, so two of the closest matches of the window were decided by two points. South Africa won 45–21 against England at Ellis Park and 43–0 against Wales in Durban. Scotland won 47–38 in Córdoba, England beat Fiji 73–8 in Liverpool, and Japan beat Italy 27–10 in Tokyo. Italy are the only northern side without a point.

November fixtures: rounds four to six

All eighteen November matches of Nations Championship rugby are in the north. Kick-off times are UK time (GMT), converted from the local times published for matches in Italy and France.

The draw is uneven. South Africa travel to Turin, Paris and Dublin; New Zealand to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Twickenham. In the north, Ireland and France each host Fiji, while Scotland and England each get Japan. The hardest run belongs to France: South Africa on 13 November and Argentina eight days later, with the top spot probably at stake both times.

Handicaps and winning margins in a new tournament

The handicap is where most of the money in international rugby goes, and it matters more than usual in Nations Championship rugby. Several November matches pair a top-four side with Japan or Fiji, and the result market on those games pays very little. The question becomes the size of the win: does England cover a big line against Japan, does Ireland put Fiji away by thirty?

Two things from July should shape those lines. First, the gaps are wide at the bottom of the southern pool. Fiji conceded 145 points in three matches and lost to England by 65. Second, the gaps are narrow at the top. Two July matches, New Zealand v France and Australia v Ireland, were settled by two points, and Argentina lost to England by seven at home. When two contenders meet, a narrow winning-margin band such as 1–12 often reads better than a long handicap.

Read our guide to handicap betting if the settlement of a line such as -14.5 is new to you. One practical point: placing matches on Finals Weekend can go to golden point. Bookmakers usually settle rugby markets on the result after 80 minutes unless the market says otherwise, so read the rules for any Finals Weekend bet.

Bonus points and what the table does to motivation

With only three matches left, a single bonus point can move a team two places. That changes how sides approach the easier fixtures. France, Ireland and Italy each face Fiji; Wales, England and Scotland each face Japan. A coach in a tight race will want four tries in those games, not just the win, and the try-bonus line becomes a market of its own.

The northern race is the tightest part of Nations Championship rugby so far. France lead on 12, Scotland have 11, and England and Ireland have 10 each, so the four places that matter are covered by two points. Each position carries a different Finals Weekend opponent: today, first means South Africa, second New Zealand, third Australia and fourth Argentina. A team drifting from first to fourth swaps a final for a seventh-place match.

The southern race may come down to points difference. South Africa and New Zealand are level on 15 points, and South Africa lead by 30 on difference. We could not confirm the tie-break order in the sources we checked, so do not assume a big win settles it. Even so, neither side has a reason to ease off against Italy or Wales.

Down the table the motivation is different. Wales have 5 points and Italy none, and Japan lead Fiji by four. Italy v Fiji in Udine on 21 November may decide who avoids the eleventh-place match. A side with nothing left to play for in round six is the main risk to any long handicap.

Finals Weekend: who plays whom

All six placing matches are at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The order is fixed by position, not by round:

If the tables stood as they are, the Grand Final would be France against South Africa, a week after the two meet in Paris. The rematch angle matters for betting: a team that loses in round five may get a second go about two weeks later, on a neutral ground. The Finals Weekend line-up of Nations Championship rugby is only known after 21 November, so expect markets to open late and the first prices to move fast.

Our view on the November rounds

These are opinions. The price column is our estimate of a fair price, not a bookmaker quote, and squads named in early November can change all of it.

Our view on the races. In the south we favour South Africa to finish top: they lead on difference and open in Turin against Italy, the only northern side still without a point. In the north we lean France, because they hold the top spot and play Fiji first, but the Paris match against South Africa is the hinge of the whole pool. Our pick for the Grand Final pairing is France against South Africa, at an expected price we would put around 4.00.

To place these bets without sending documents at sign-up, compare the no verification betting sites on our main ranking. For other sports this month, our predictions hub collects every preview.

Where to watch the Nations Championship

National broadcasters in the host countries show the November matches. According to Rugby World, ITV has every game in the UK, Virgin Media in Ireland and TF1 in France; elsewhere coverage is on paid services that change by market. The competition's own website lists fixtures, results and team news.

Some betting sites also show a selection of rugby internationals to logged-in customers next to the live markets. We have picked sites that offer this, but the matches each one carries vary, so check a site's schedule before the weekend rather than at kick-off.

More rugby and country guides

The rugby hub explains the core markets for every competition we cover. The same northern teams return in February, and our Six Nations page has the 2027 fixture list and our early outright view.

Nations Championship rugby draws the biggest betting interest in the countries that play it. If you are betting from one of them, see our guides for Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

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