More than 100,000 tickets have been sold for the inaugural Nations Championship Finals Weekend, with the three-day event at Allianz Stadium in London set to run from 27–29 November.
SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris described the milestone as evidence of "strong global interest" in the tournament, adding that the July Southern Series — which produced 109 tries across 18 matches and finished nine wins apiece between the hemispheres — had "captured the imagination of players, fans, and nations alike."
Heading into the Northern Series, which runs across the weekends of 7, 14 and 21 November, South Africa and New Zealand are the only two unbeaten teams in the competition, both on 15 points from three matches at the top of the Southern Hemisphere group. In the Northern group, France lead on 12 points from two wins, with Scotland (11 points) and England (10 points) close behind — bonus points likely to play a decisive role in determining the seedings.
The Finals Weekend format pits teams finishing in corresponding positions across each hemisphere group against each other in six head-to-head contests. Points from those matches determine which hemisphere claims the Nations Championship Hemisphere Trophy, while the grand final — between the top-placed team from each hemisphere — crowns the overall Nations Championship Trophy winner.
SA Rugby Travel has bespoke packages available for the Finals Weekend as well as for the Springboks' Northern Series fixtures against Italy, France, and Ireland.