South Africa and France have emerged as front-runners in the inaugural Nations Championship, leading their respective hemispheres after three rounds of an increasingly high-stakes global competition.
Southern hemisphere: Springboks set perfect pace
The Springboks are the only southern hemisphere side with a flawless record, having taken maximum points from all three of their Tests so far.
They launched their campaign with a commanding 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park, underlining their physical dominance and clinical finishing. That was followed by a 42-28 victory over a determined Scotland team at Loftus Versfeld.
Their most ruthless display came in Durban, where they dismantled Wales 43-0 at Kings Park, completing a clean sweep in the ‘Southern series’ phase and reinforcing their credentials as early title favourites.
South Africa and New Zealand are the only unbeaten teams left across both hemispheres, and crucially, both have secured full bonus-point hauls from each of their matches.
All Blacks deliver statement win over Ireland
New Zealand, level with the Springboks in terms of points and unbeaten status, have also made a formidable start.
The All Blacks opened with a nail-biting 34-32 victory over a much-changed France side, before sweeping past Italy 47-17 in Round 2.
However, the standout performance of Dave Rennie’s tenure came in Round 3, when New Zealand produced what many observers have described as their most complete display in years, defeating Ireland 40-21 at Eden Park.
That result, built on tempo, accuracy and ruthless counter-attacking, is likely to have caught the attention of Rassie Erasmus and his Springbok coaching staff ahead of next month’s eagerly anticipated ‘Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry’ series between the sport’s two most decorated Test nations.
France shine on tour despite missing star names
In the northern hemisphere standings, Six Nations champions France have underlined their status as the region’s standard-bearers – despite travelling with a depleted squad.
Les Bleus have been without several of their biggest stars on tour, including Antoine Dupont, Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Thomas Ramos. Even so, they sit top of the northern table after three rounds and have demonstrated impressive depth across their match-day squads.
France collected two valuable bonus points in a narrow 34-32 defeat to New Zealand, a result that hinted at their resilience and attacking ambition even in defeat.
They then delivered one of the performances of the tournament so far by overturning Australia 42-26. Trailing 21-12 at half-time against the Wallabies, the French side surged back after the break, piling on 30 points in the second half to complete a remarkable comeback.
That momentum carried into their third outing, a comfortable 47-15 win over Japan, which consolidated their position at the summit of the northern race.
With their frontline players expected to return for the ‘Northern series’ phase later in the year, France are widely tipped to remain the team to beat in the northern hemisphere.
New format builds towards London Grand Final
Round 3 marked the conclusion of the competition’s ‘Southern series’. The Nations Championship will resume in early November with the ‘Northern series’, when the Springboks, All Blacks, Australia, Argentina, Japan and Fiji are all scheduled to play on the road in the northern hemisphere.
The structure of the tournament sees teams split into northern and southern conferences, with each side aiming to finish top of its hemisphere table.
The winners of each hemisphere will advance to a one-off ‘Grand Final’ on 29 November at the Allianz Stadium in London – a fixture designed to crown a global champion from the new-look calendar.
With South Africa and New Zealand unbeaten, and France leading the north despite fielding a weakened squad, the stage is being set for a compelling climax to rugby’s newest international showpiece.
