North v South - the battle for global supremacy is tighter than ever
Summary
The Nations Championship is a new rugby competition starting this weekend that features northern hemisphere teams against southern hemisphere teams. It aims to challenge the southern hemisphere’s historical dominance in rugby by bringing all teams together in a league followed by a playoff to decide the winner.Key Facts
- The southern hemisphere teams have won 9 of the 10 Rugby World Cups, with only England winning once in 2003.
- The Nations Championship includes northern teams from the Six Nations (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy) and southern teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, plus invited sides Fiji and Japan.
- Each team plays all six teams from the opposite hemisphere once, with matches spread over July and November.
- Teams are ranked within their hemisphere based on results, and a playoff event in November decides the overall champion.
- The final weekend uses a points system to also crown which hemisphere wins overall in a Ryder Cup style format.
- Historically, southern hemisphere teams have won nearly 57% of head-to-head matches, but recent years show a more balanced record between north and south.
- Teams like Ireland, Argentina, Japan, and Fiji have helped close the gap, making recent games more competitive and often very close in score.
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