No Rugby Championship in 2026 with NZ to tour SA
South Africa will host a tour from great rivals New Zealand next year
- Published
The Rugby Championship will not be played in 2026, organiser Sanzaar has confirmed.
Traditionally played between August and October, the Rugby Championship is contested by South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina - with the Springboks the current holders.
But it will not go ahead next year, with the southern hemisphere's leading international competition mothballed for a season to create space for New Zealand to tour world champions South Africa in a series billed as "the Greatest Rivalry", as well as World Rugby's inaugural Nations Championship.
In 2027, the Rugby Championship will return in an earlier slot in July and August before the Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Sanzaar confirmed that the Rugby Championship will be played 2028 and 2029 before pausing again in 2030 for an international multi-week tour, likely to be another series between the Springboks and All Blacks.
Next year, World Rugby launches the Nations Championship, taking place in the July and November Test windows and featuring the leading teams in the world - the Six Nations sides, their Rugby Championship counterparts and two more invited teams.
"Looking ahead, our joint venture is committed to driving the next chapter of southern hemisphere rugby," Sanzaar CEO Brendan Morris said.
"After listening to what supporters, broadcasters and our stakeholders want, we've worked with the unions to craft a bold and dynamic schedule."
The All Blacks kick off the Greatest Rivalry tour against the Stormers in Cape Town on 7 August and will also play the Sharks, Bulls and Lions alongside their four-Test series against the Springboks.
DHL Stadium in Cape Town and FNB Stadium and Ellis Park in Johannesburg are the South African venues, with the fourth Test to be played at a neutral international venue, which is to be confirmed in the coming months.
South Africa Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said: "This fierce competition between two very proud nations has delivered more than a century of drama on rugby fields across the world, including two Rugby World Cup finals.
"Today's announcement promises more drama, physicality, strategy, and unpredictability in a rivalry regarded as one of the most intense in world sport."