Nations Championship 2026 on TV: Schedule, TV channels and live stream

Saturday marks the start of a new dawn in international rugby union as the Nations Championship bursts into life.

The new tournament brings the 12 best teams in the sport – the traditional Six Nations plus Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Japan and Fiji – together and pits Northern Hemisphere sides against those in the Southern Hemisphere.

It starts with the Southern Hemisphere Series in July before the Northern Hemisphere takes its turn to host in the Autumn and then Finals weekend at Twickenham at the end of November.

Pitting the world’s best teams and players against each other is certainly no bad thing and every match is available to watch for free for UK fans.

Saturday’s schedule is truly mouthwatering. You can breakfast with New Zealand v France, tuck into Australia v Ireland for brunch, enjoy Fiji v Wales as a late lunch, dig into South Africa v England in the afternoon, and then cap off the day with Argentina v Scotland.

Radio Times brings you all the TV coverage details for the Six Nations 2026.

Nations Championship 2026 on TV

Every Nations Championship 2026 match will be shown live on ITV.

ITV1 or ITV4 will show each of the games, exposing millions to elite rugby union action and the world’s best teams on free-to-air TV.

Games will also be available to watch on ITVX, so you don’t have to miss a moment – even on the move.

Additionally, there will be Welsh-language coverage of Wales games on S4C, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.

You can tune into either platform via a range of devices, including smart TVs, laptops and smartphones, meaning you can catch every tackle, turnover and try.

Nations Championship 2026 TV schedule

All UK time.

Southern Hemisphere Series

Saturday 4 July

• New Zealand v France (8:10am – One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch) ITV1 / ITVX
• Japan v Italy (9:40am – Tokyo Chichibunomiya, Tokyo) ITV4 / ITVX
• Australia v Ireland (11:10am – Allianz Stadium, Sydney) ITV1 / ITVX
• Fiji v Wales (2:10pm – Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff) ITV1 / ITVX / S4C / BBC iPlayer
• South Africa v England (4:40pm – Ellis Park, Johannesburg) ITV4 / ITVX
• Argentina v Scotland (8pm – Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Cordoba) ITV4 / ITVX

Saturday 11 July

• New Zealand v Italy (6:10am – Hnry Stadium, Wellington) ITV / ITVX
• Australia v France (8:30am – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane) ITV / ITVX
• Japan v Ireland (11am – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia) ITV / ITVX
• Fiji v England (2:10pm – Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool) ITV / ITVX
• South Africa v Scotland (4:40pm – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria) ITV / ITVX
• Argentina v Wales (8pm – Estadio San Juan de Bicentenario, San Juan) ITV / ITVX

Saturday 18 July

• New Zealand v Ireland (8:10am – Eden Park, Auckland) ITV / ITVX
• Japan v France (9:40am – Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo) ITV / ITVX
• Australia v Italy (11:10am – HBF Park, Perth) ITV / ITVX
• Fiji v Scotland (2:10pm – Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh) ITV / ITVX
• South Africa v Wales (4:40pm – Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban) ITV / ITVX
• Argentina v England (8:10pm – Estadio Unico Madre de Cuidades, Santiago del Estero) ITV / ITVX

Northern Hemisphere Series

Friday 6 November

• Ireland v Argentina (8:10pm – Aviva Stadium, Dublin) ITV / ITVX

Saturday 7 November

• Italy v South Africa (11:40am – Allianz Stadium, Turin) ITV / ITVX
• Scotland v New Zealand (2:10pm – Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh) ITV / ITVX
• Wales v Japan (4:40pm – Principality Stadium, Cardiff) ITV / ITVX
• France v Fiji (8:10pm – Groupama Stadium, Lyon) ITV / ITVX

Sunday 8 November

• England v Australia (3:10pm – Allianz Stadium, London) ITV / ITVX

Friday 13 November

• France v South Africa (8:10pm – Stade de France, Paris) ITV / ITVX

Saturday 14 November

• Italy v Argentina (11:40am – Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa) ITV / ITVX
• Wales v New Zealand (2:10pm – Principality Stadium, Cardiff) ITV / ITVX
• England v Japan (4:40pm – Allianz Stadium, London) ITV / ITVX
• Ireland v Fiji (8:10pm – Aviva Stadium, Dublin) ITV / ITVX

Sunday 15 November

• Scotland v Australia (3:10pm – Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh) ITV / ITVX

Saturday 21 November

• England v New Zealand (2:10pm – Allianz Stadium, London) ITV / ITVX
• Scotland v Japan (2:10pm – Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh) ITV / ITVX
• Ireland v South Africa (4:40pm – Aviva Stadium, Dublin) ITV / ITVX
• Italy v Fiji (4:40pm – Bluenergy Stadium, Udine) ITV / ITVX
• Wales v Australia (8:10pm – Principality Stadium, Cardiff) ITV / ITVX
• France v Argentina (8:10pm – Stade de France, Paris) ITV / ITVX

Finals

Friday 27 November

• 11th Place Final: Northern 6 v Southern 6 (4:40pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX
• 5th Place Final: Northern 3 v Southern 3 (8:10pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX

Saturday 28 November

• 9th Place Final: Northern 5 v Southern 5 (1:10pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX
• 3rd Place Final: Northern 2 v Southern 2 (4:40pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX

Sunday 29 November

• 7th Place Final: Northern 4 v Southern 4 (1:10pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX
• Nations Championship Final: Northern 1 v Southern 1 (4:40pm, Twickenham) ITV / ITVX

Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.