Overview
- Team lists for the opening round were confirmed on Thursday ahead of July 4 fixtures that include Australia v Ireland, New Zealand v France, Scotland v Argentina and South Africa v England.
- Australia surprised with the recall of Jock Campbell at fullback, a new halves pairing of Carter Gordon and Ryan Lonergan, and veteran prop James Slipper named on the bench after a brief retirement.
- Ireland made four changes with Sam Prendergast restored at flyhalf, Jamie Osborne shifted to the wing and Dan Sheehan wearing the captain’s armband in Caelan Doris’s absence.
- New Zealand coach Dave Rennie picked Ruben Love to make his first test start at No.10 and included two uncapped players on the bench as reward for strong Super Rugby form.
- The Nations Championship is a new 12‑team North‑vs‑South, year‑long tournament with a July southern window and finals in London in late November, and the opening selections reflect club performances, injuries, and pending coaching transitions such as Joe Schmidt’s planned handover to Les Kiss.