Rugby Union - the pause that refreshes - summer 2026
After a long northern season of major battles in the 3 club competitions (Premiership, URC and Top 14) and an inaugural international competition (The Nations Championship) that pitted the best 6 northern and southern hemisphere teams against each other, elite players are grateful for the brief break before the 2026/27 season gets underway.
Here is a quick recap of last season’s glories and a check on where the Nations Championship stands thus far.
In the Gallagher Premiership, Northampton Saints beat the Exeter Chiefs 26-17 in the final in London. Exeter, a team in rebuilding mode had a great second half to their season, including overcoming a 3-score half-time deficit in their semi-final against defending champions, Bath by a single point. Northampton had a more convincing win in their semi against Leicester Tigers, scoring 7 tries and winning 45-31. The final was a more rugged affair with Saints overcoming a visibly tired Exeter, 26-17.
In the United Rugby Championship, the Glasgow Warriors had led the standings for much of the season but fell to South Africa’s Vodacom Bulls by a single point in the semis, 21-22. In the other semi, defending champions Leinster beat another SA, the DHL Stormers 20-11 to set up a Dublin final. Home-field advantage and a side that is basically Ireland’s national team proved too strong for the Pretoria-based Bulls, beating them 36-7 for Leinster’s 10th URC trophy.
In France’s Top 14, defending champions Stade Toulousain led the standings for much of the season and were only challenged late in the season by a string of losses and a surge from eventual finalists, Montpelier. Indicative of the depth of the French game, the list of teams that qualified for the knockout stages remained in flux until the end, with Union Bordeaux-Begles and ASM Clermont dropping out of contention and Racing ‘92 and Stade Rochelais dropping in. Toulouse took on Montpelier in the final and won 28-20, their 14th win of the French Championship since the game turned professional and their 4th win in a row.
The Investec Champions Cup showed a reversal of fortune for 2 major European sides. UBB of France, having had a disappointing season in the French league won the final 41-19 over Leinster of Ireland who, despite their sterling record in the URC have now lost this final 5 times since their last win in 2018.
The Nations Championship, played in July, pits the top 6 European nations (England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Italy) against the top 6 “Southern” hemisphere teams (New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, plus Fiji and Japan) in 2 series of 3 games, in July and November. After 2 series, the ranked teams in each hemisphere will play their equivalent-ranked opponent in a “Finals” weekend in late November to determine both an overall champion and the ranking of these top 12 world teams. Unsurprisingly, after the first series, France ranks #1 in the northern group, and South Africa and New Zealand are tied for 1st in the south.
So the next season of Northern rugby starts in September as follows: Top 14 (France) September 5 for a 26-game season; Gallagher Premiership September 25 (18 games); URC September 25 (18). Live-streaming information to follow.