Your Ultimate Guide to Rugby: The Nations Championship and Six Nations 2027
The roar of the crowd, the fierce rivalries, the sheer skill and passion. There is nothing quite like it. This season brings a brand new global tournament and a compressed Six Nations, so here are the fixtures we have on sale right now - and how to be there.
Match day. The city stops, the singing starts, and nobody goes home early.
We will say this plainly, and we say it as a company that sells football, Formula 1, racing, tennis and darts too: a rugby weekend is the best value trip in sport.
You get an enormous occasion in a genuinely brilliant city. You get an away support that mixes with the home crowd all day rather than being penned into a corner. And unlike football, you can wear your colours anywhere without anybody minding, which changes the whole character of the weekend.
This particular season is a big one, because the sport has just changed shape.
First, the new thing: the Nations Championship
What used to be a loose set of autumn tours is now a proper tournament with a table, a knockout finish and something at stake in every match.
How it works, in thirty seconds
Two groups. The Northern group is the six Six Nations sides. The Southern group is South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, plus Fiji and Japan as invitational teams.
Six rounds in total, split across the summer and autumn windows. Rounds four, five and six are played in the northern hemisphere across November 2026. It runs every two years, in the gaps between Rugby World Cup and Lions tour years. So this is the first one, and it will not come round again until 2028.
The practical upshot for you: November fixtures now carry league points, and the whole thing is bookable now.
The fixtures we have on sale - November 2026
| Fixture | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland v Argentina | Fri 6 Nov | Aviva Stadium, Dublin - a Friday night opener, which leaves the whole weekend yours |
| Wales v Japan | Sat 7 Nov | Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
| England v Australia | Sun 8 Nov | Allianz Stadium, Twickenham |
| France v South Africa | Fri 13 Nov | Stade de France, Paris - two of the best sides on the planet, Friday night, Paris |
| Wales v New Zealand | Sat 14 Nov | Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
| England v Japan | Sat 14 Nov | Allianz Stadium, Twickenham |
| Ireland v Fiji | Sat 14 Nov | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| England v New Zealand | Sat 21 Nov | Allianz Stadium, Twickenham - the oldest rivalry worth having |
| Ireland v South Africa | Sat 21 Nov | Aviva Stadium, Dublin - the world champions in Dublin. The biggest ticket of the autumn |
| Wales v Australia | Sat 21 Nov | Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
November now carries league points. Nothing in the autumn is a friendly any more.
Then the main event: Six Nations 2027
Five rounds, six countries, and six weeks where a fair chunk of Europe reorganises its weekends around a rugby fixture. The championship runs from Friday 5 February to Super Saturday on 13 March 2027.
One change worth planning around: the championship has moved to a single fallow week rather than two, so 2027 is more compressed than you may be used to. The break falls between rounds three and four, at the end of February.
The fixtures we have on sale - Six Nations 2027
| Fixture | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| France v Wales | Sat 6 Feb | Stade de France, Paris |
| Italy v Ireland | Sat 13 Feb | Stadio Olimpico, Rome - usually the cheapest ticket of the championship, in one of the great cities |
| Wales v Ireland | Sat 20 Feb | Principality Stadium, Cardiff, roof shut. Our pick of the entire championship |
| France v Scotland | Sun 21 Feb | Stade de France, Paris - a Sunday fixture, so Saturday in Paris is yours |
| Wales v England | Sat 6 Mar | Principality Stadium, Cardiff - the oldest grievance in the championship |
| Italy v France | Sat 6 Mar | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
| Italy v Wales | Sat 13 Mar | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
Where to go: a city by city guide
The fixture is only half of it. These weekends are as much about the city as the eighty minutes, so here is the honest assessment of each.
Cardiff - Principality Stadium
The best atmosphere in world rugby, and it is not particularly close. The stadium sits in the middle of the city rather than out in a suburb, so match day becomes one continuous event from about eleven in the morning. With the roof shut, the noise has nowhere to go. If you have never done a rugby weekend, do this one first.
Dublin - Aviva Stadium
Needs no introduction to anyone reading this from the island of Ireland, and no persuasion for anyone else. Compact, walkable, and the Aviva is a genuinely superb modern ground. Those Friday night fixtures make the best structured weekend on the calendar.
London - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
The biggest dedicated rugby stadium in the world, with a match day culture all of its own. Easiest of the lot to reach and the widest choice of hotels, which usually means the best value on accommodation.
Paris - Stade de France
The occasion is enormous and the city needs no help from us. Sunday fixtures are the sweet spot, because Saturday in Paris is entirely yours before you have even thought about rugby.
Rome - Stadio Olimpico
Italy's Six Nations fixtures are at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, usually the most affordable ticket of the championship in one of the great cities. Pair the rugby with a long weekend rather than a flying visit, and you will not regret it.
Getting there from Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland
We are based in Newtownards, so this is not a bolt-on for us. It is where most of our guests start from.
For Dublin, you are driving or on the Enterprise. Simple. Book on seesports.ie for euro pricing, since it is a separate booking environment with its own euro client trust account and you will not pay a conversion spread.
For Cardiff, London and Europe, you are flying, and the hotel is the constraint rather than the flight. Cardiff in particular has limited stock for the crowd a rugby Saturday brings, which is the main argument for booking a package rather than assembling it yourself. See our ferry travel options if you prefer to sail.
What you actually get from us
Four things, every time, on every rugby package we sell.
- Official tickets, sourced through legitimate channels. Guaranteed seats together, so a group of twelve sits as a group of twelve rather than in four separate pairs.
- A handpicked hotel, vetted and tested by us for location and standard.
- Kick-Off Cover, so if the fixture date or kick-off time moves, we rearrange your tickets, hotel and internal transfers at no extra fee.
- 100% financial protection on every booking, through TTA trust accounts in the UK and IPP protection in Ireland.
Two honest notes. Coach transfers are not included on rugby packages, only on escorted tours such as our Formula 1 trips. And we never sell tickets on their own, for any sport, because every ticket we issue is paired with a bed. See our price guide for exactly what is and is not included.
No segregation, no colour restrictions. Both sets of supporters spend the day in the same pubs.
What's included in every package
| Inclusion | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tickets | Official, sourced properly, in your hands before you travel |
| Guaranteed seats together | Your group sits as a group. Not scattered, not split across tiers |
| A handpicked hotel | Vetted and tested by us, not pulled from a booking feed |
| Exclusive Kick-Off Cover | If the date or kick-off time moves, we move your trip with it at no extra fee |
That is the whole package, every time. No add-ons to chase, no hidden extras. Browse all rugby packages or our featured offers to see what is available now.
Rugby travel questions, answered
What is the Nations Championship? A new World Rugby tournament running for the first time in 2026. The six Six Nations sides form a Northern group, and South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan form a Southern group. Six rounds are split across the summer and autumn windows, with rounds four to six played in Europe in November 2026. It runs every two years, between Rugby World Cup and Lions tour years.
Which Nations Championship fixtures do you have on sale? Ten of the November 2026 fixtures, across Dublin, Cardiff, Twickenham and Paris. See the table above for the full list, or browse all rugby packages for live availability.
When does the Six Nations 2027 start? Friday 5 February 2027. The championship ends on Super Saturday, 13 March 2027, with a single fallow week at the end of February.
Which Six Nations weekend makes the best trip? Wales v Ireland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 20 February 2027, with the roof shut. Cardiff has the best match-day atmosphere in world rugby, and the roof makes it louder. Italy v Ireland in Rome the week before is the best-value trip if you want to pair the rugby with a city break.
Can I book a group? Yes. If you are booking for more than about a dozen people, phone us rather than working through the website. It is faster, and there is more we can do for you once we are talking.