The Nations Championship brings together 12 nations split into two geographical conferences — Northern (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales) and Southern (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Japan) — competing across the July and November international windows with a final weekend at Twickenham. Teams only face opposition from the opposite conference, with three matches scheduled per window.
The points system uses a standard win/draw/loss structure (4/2/0) with a losing bonus point for a margin of seven or fewer, and a tries bonus point triggered at four or more tries — reverting to the classical threshold rather than the Rugby Championship's differential-based model.
South Africa open their Nations Championship campaign against England at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, 5 July (17:40 SAST), before hosting Scotland at Loftus Versfeld on 11 July (17:40 SAST) and Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on 18 July (17:40 SAST). All matches are live on SuperSport.