The all-new World Rugby Nations Championship is almost upon us, as the best of both hemispheres gear up to be crowned as victors.
England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy will face off in six matches against their Southern counterparts South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan in six matches over the course of the year.
These will determine who plays who in the finals weekend, with the top two from each 'division' facing off in a Grand Final.
Despite playing against the teams from the opposite division, each nation will be competing against those from their own hemisphere, as they look to finish at the top of their group to reach the final.
With all that in mind, let's take a look at how the odds suggest 2026 World Rugby Nations Championship will unfold.
To Win Division
Southern Hemisphere
Unsurprisingly, the World Champion Springboks - who have won the last two Rugby Championships - are the favourites to win the Southern Hemisphere division.
New Zealand, widely regarded as the South's second best at present, are next in the odds, comfortably ahead of third place Australia.
Argentina, the final SANZAAR nation, complete the top four, with Fiji and Japan extreme outsiders to top their division and book a place in the Grand Final.
Northern Hemisphere
As with the South, there is no surprise in which team is favourite to win the Northern Hemisphere division, with reigning Six Nations winners France odds on at the time of writing.
Despite finishing an extremely disappointing fifth in the 2026 Six Nations, England find themselves second favourites in the odds at the time of writing, just ahead of third place Ireland and fourth place Scotland.
Interestingly, despite their fourth place finish at the 2026 Six Nations, Italy are the biggest outsiders by a considerable margin, behind Wales - who earned themselves a third consecutive Wooden Spoon this year.
Winning Hemisphere
In what is expected to be a hard fought contest, the South are marginal favourites to be the winning hemisphere at the time of writing.
Many would have expected the South to hold a significant advantage in ability over the North, however the location for the finals - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London - is likely to level the playing field somewhat.
The North do also boast France, who have been regarded as one of - if not the - best rugby nations currently, though Les Blues are yet to fully show this on the global stage.
To Win Outright
World Champions South Africa are the current favourites to win the inaugrual World Rugby Nations Championship, closely followed by 2026 Six Nations winners France.
New Zealand are third in the betting, with England and Ireland following closely behind.
Australia, Argentina and Scotland are the final nations who have a realistic chance of mounting a challenge in this year's tournament, with Fiji, Japan, Wales and Italy all ranked as extremely wide outsiders to win the Grand Final at Allianz Twickenham Stadium.
Odds will display when markets are available and odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
