Rugby Championship: Dates, teams, venues, history & more

The Rugby Championship may be small but it is perfectly formed and brings together four rugby powerhouses, all vying to be kings of the southern hemisphere.

Rugby Championship dates

The Rugby Championship begins on the 10th August and will run until 4th October.

Rugby Championship teams

The tournament is an expansion of the old Tri-Nations and features New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina.

Rugby Championship venues/stadiums

The 2025 Rugby Championship will see a game held in the Northern Hemisphere for the first time as Argentina "host" South Africa.

• Argentina: Estadio José Amalfitani, Twickenham Stadium
• Australia: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Optus Stadium, Allianz Stadium
• New Zealand: Wellington Regional Stadium, Eden Park
• South Africa: Ellis Park Stadium, Cape Town Stadium, Kings Park Stadium

Rugby Championship how to watch

The Rugby Championship will be available to watch live in the UK and will be broadcast on Sky Sports Action.

Rugby Championship format

The Rugby Championship traditionally sees all four teams play each other twice, home and away, with teams awarded four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat.

Two bonus points are on offer in each match with an attacking bonus point available if a team scores three tries or more, while there’s another bonus point up for grabs for teams losing by seven points or fewer.

Rugby Championship schedule

• 16th August: South Africa v Australia, Argentina v New Zealand
• 23rd August: Australia v South Africa, New Zealand v Argentina
• 6th September: Australia v Argentina, New Zealand v South Africa
• 13th September: Argentina v Australia, South Africa v New Zealand
• 27th September: New Zealand v Australia, South Africa v Argentina
• 4th October: Australia v New Zealand, Argentina v South Africa

Rugby Championship history

The southern hemisphere’s answer to the Six Nations came into existence in the early days of the professional era with the formation of the Tri-Nations in 1995.

An agreement between the unions from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa saw the creation of SANZAR, a body made up of the CEOs from the three nations.

In 1995, they proposed not only the club rugby tournament now known as Super Rugby but an international competition between the three founding members.

New Zealand, South Africa and Australia would contest the first Tri-Nations in 1996 and it wasn’t until 2012 that the competition was expanded when Argentina joined.

The tournament was renamed the Rugby Championship with the addition of the Pumas and there has been a suggestion of Japan and Fiji joining the party from 2026 onwards.

New Zealand are the record winners of the Rugby Championship with ten titles, while South Africa have two successes and Australia have one.