Rugby union has a small number of tournaments that carry the whole sport: the Rugby World Cup, the Six Nations in the northern hemisphere and the Rugby Championship in the south. This page covers the latest Six Nations, what is coming at the 2027 World Cup, and how the pieces fit together. It follows international rugby only, not club competitions.
The 2026 Six Nations: France win on the last kick
The 2026 Six Nations ran from 5 February to 14 March and ended in one of the most dramatic finishes the tournament has had. France beat England 48-46 in Paris on the final day, and Thomas Ramos kicked a penalty with the last kick of the tournament to win it. Ireland, who were about to celebrate the title, finished second. It was France's 20th title and a second in a row. BBC Sport called it arguably the greatest Six Nations ever, and the final-day match had 13 tries between the two sides.
The final standings were France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, England and Wales. A few stories sit inside that table:
- Ireland won the Triple Crown, beating England 42-21 and Scotland 43-21 on the way, and lost only to France in round one.
- Scotland finished third, with a 50-40 win over France in round four in Edinburgh.
- Italy finished fourth and won 23-18 at home to England in Rome, their first ever Six Nations win over England.
- England lost four matches in one Six Nations for the first time and finished fifth, after starting with a 48-7 win over Wales.
- Wales won their first Six Nations match since 2023, 31-17 against Italy in Cardiff, but took the Wooden Spoon for the third year running.
France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey was top try-scorer for the second year in a row, with a record nine tries in five games.
How the Six Nations is scored
A win is worth four points and a draw two. A team gets a bonus point for scoring four or more tries and another for losing by seven points or fewer. A team that wins all five games gets three extra points, so a Grand Slam always wins the title.
The next big event: Rugby World Cup 2027
The Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 is in Australia, from 1 October to 13 November 2027. It is the first with 24 teams, and it has 52 matches over seven weekends. The opener is Australia against debutants Hong Kong China at Perth Stadium on 1 October. Hong Kong China will be the 27th national team to play at a men's World Cup.
The pools drawn in Sydney in December 2025 are:
- Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong China
- Pool B: South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania
- Pool C: Argentina, Fiji, Spain, Canada
- Pool D: Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, Portugal
- Pool E: France, Japan, USA, Samoa
- Pool F: England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe
The match to circle is Australia against New Zealand in Pool A. They have never met in a World Cup pool stage before, and their last World Cup meeting was the 2015 final, which New Zealand won 34-17. South Africa go in as defending champions.
The southern hemisphere
The Rugby Championship is the southern hemisphere's annual tournament, between New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina. South Africa won the 2025 edition after winning in 2024 as well.
Two results from the 2025 tournament show the range. On 27 September 2025 South Africa beat Argentina 67-30, and a week later, on 4 October, they beat them again 29-27. New Zealand beat Australia 33-24 on 27 September and 28-14 on 4 October.
Follow it live
This site does not have a live rugby card, because the free third-party widget we use covers cricket, football, tennis and basketball only. For rugby we list verified dates on the Schedule page as text, and we mark those as not live.
Sources
Facts are from BBC Sport (Six Nations 2026), World Rugby (RWC 2027 draw), Rugby World Cup (2027 schedule) and AP (Rugby Championship winners). Facts last checked 17 October 2026.
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