By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@WorldRugby.
The World Rugby Council has approved big changes to the men’s and women’s rugby calendars, which has been described as the most significant overhaul of the international game.
World Rugby released a statement on Tuesday, explaining a new global calendar which will come into effect from 2026. It will include “new competitions and increased opportunity”.
One of those new competitions in the men’s calendar will feature both Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides, as well as two further unions to be selected by SANZAAR.
A second division run by World Rugby will be made up of 12 teams with promotion and relegation will commence from 2030.
The World Cup will also be expanded from 20 to 24 teams in 2027.
The new RWC format will feature six pools of four teams, with a round of 16 added prior to the quarterfinals. This will enable the tournament window to be reduced from seven to six weeks.
The new competition – yet to be given an official name – will be played in July and November, replacing the current summer and autumn international windows.
It will take place in alternate years, excluding those which will include the World Cup and British and Irish Lions tours.
The major change for the women’s game, meanwhile, is the introduction of the first dedicated international release windows from 2026 as part of a global calendar for Test matches.
“Agreement on the men’s and women’s global calendars and their content is the most significant development in the sport since the game went professional,” said World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont.
“[It is] a historic moment for our sport that sets us up collectively for success.
“We now look forward to an exciting new era commencing in 2026. An era that will bring certainty and opportunity for all.
“An era that will support the many, not the few, and an era that will supercharge the development of the sport beyond its traditional and often self-imposed boundaries.
“I would like to thank all my colleagues for their spirit of collaboration. We have achieved something special.”
The future changes have been announced four days before the winners of the Rugby World Cup will be crowned, with New Zealand facing South Africa in the final in Paris on Saturday.
Teams confirmed to be participating in the top division of the new global competition are the sides which compete in the annual Six Nations tournament in Europe – England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy – as well as South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, who compete in the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship.
The two unnamed others are most likely to be Fiji and Japan, given they are ranked 10th and 12th in the world respectively.
World Rugby said the revamped calendar will provide a “significant uplift” in the number of matches for lower-ranked teams, known as “tier two” sides, against more established nations.