Rugby has a genuinely new competition this year, and the first European chapter of it lands in November. The Nations Championship brings the six European teams and the six teams from the southern hemisphere into one table for the first time, and for three weekends the fixtures land in Dublin, Edinburgh, Cardiff, London, Paris, Lyon and three Italian cities. If you have ever thought about building a short trip around an international rugby weekend, this is an unusually good year to do it.

What the Nations Championship is

Until now, the November internationals were a set of friendly test matches arranged bilaterally. From 2026 they count. Twelve teams play a full round-robin against the opposing pool across the July and November windows, and the standings decide who meets whom at a finals weekend in London at the end of November. The same fixtures you would have watched anyway now carry a place in a global table, which changes the temperature of the crowd more than it changes the rugby.

Sports Events 365 has all eighteen November fixtures listed on one page, so the simplest way to see the whole window at a glance is the World Rugby Nations Championship competition page.

Three weekends, and none of them is only Saturday

The matches are spread from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, so check the day before you book flights.

6-8 November

Ireland host Argentina in Dublin on the Friday. Saturday brings Italy against South Africa in Turin, Scotland against New Zealand at Murrayfield, Wales against Japan in Cardiff and France against Fiji in Lyon. England play Australia at Twickenham on the Sunday.

13-15 November

France meet South Africa in Paris on the Friday, which is the standout fixture of the middle weekend. Saturday has Italy against Argentina in Genoa, Wales against New Zealand in Cardiff, England against Japan at Twickenham and Ireland against Fiji in Dublin. Scotland close the weekend against Australia on the Sunday.

21 November

The final round is played on one day: Scotland against Japan, England against New Zealand, Ireland against South Africa, Italy against Fiji in Udine, France against Argentina in Paris and Wales against Australia in Cardiff. Six matches, six cities, one Saturday.

How to choose your match

If you want the biggest occasion of the month, it is England against New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on 21 November. It is the fixture that sells first every time it comes around, and this year it also decides seeding for the finals weekend being played in the same stadium six days later.

If you want a city that gives you something to do either side of the match, Paris is the obvious pick. Stade de France hosts two of the best fixtures in the window, France against South Africa on 13 November and France against Argentina on 21 November, and a rugby ticket sits comfortably inside a normal weekend in the city.

If availability matters more than the marquee name, look at Scotland. Murrayfield has all three of its matches on sale with a wide spread of categories, and Edinburgh in November is easier to book at short notice than London or Paris. Italy's three home matches, in Turin, Genoa and Udine, are the quietest corner of the calendar and the easiest to add to an existing trip.

And if you simply want the loudest ninety minutes available, Cardiff is walkable from end to end, the stadium sits in the middle of the city, and Wales play three times.

The finals weekend in London

The window closes with something rugby has never staged before: six ranking matches across three days at Twickenham, from 27 to 29 November, with the grand final on the Sunday. The pairings depend on the November results, so the line-ups are not known yet. If you want to be there, the practical approach is to plan the travel now and watch the Twickenham Stadium page for the fixtures as they are confirmed.

Before you book

Two small things save trouble. First, confirm the kick-off day rather than assuming Saturday, because several of these matches move to Friday night or Sunday afternoon for broadcast. Second, book the ticket before the hotel where you can. In November, hotel rooms in Dublin, Cardiff and Edinburgh move on match weekends far faster than they do in an ordinary week.

Whichever weekend suits you, the whole window is in one place. Browse the November fixtures on the Nations Championship page, or start from the venue if you already know the city you want.