International tours — summer and autumn — are the traditional windows when the northern and southern hemisphere nations meet outside the major competitions. Here are the international rugby windows for 2026 and 2027, with a focus on UK and Home Nations sides.
The international rugby calendar is built around several windows dedicated to test matches between nations. Outside of the structured competitions (Guinness Six Nations, The Rugby Championship in the southern hemisphere, Rugby World Cup every four years), there are two major periods devoted to international tours, when the northern and southern hemisphere teams meet in series of test matches:
These tours give head coaches a chance to test younger players, experiment with new combinations and face different styles of play — invaluable preparation in the build-up to the major competitions.
The summer tour traditionally takes place in June and July, after the European club seasons end (Premiership Rugby in England, Top 14 in France, URC for the Celtic nations and Italy). Each northern selection then plays three to four test matches away in the southern hemisphere.
The exact summer-tour fixtures for 2026 and 2027 for the Home Nations and France have not yet been confirmed by the RFU, SRU, WRU, IRFU and FFR at the time of writing. Usually each side plays a 2-3 test match tour in one of the major southern nations each summer. Note that in a Rugby World Cup year, the summer tour is traditionally lighter, to manage squad workloads ahead of the World Cup. The British & Irish Lions tour, an iconic event for UK fans, also falls into this summer window every four years.
The autumn tour, traditionally known as the "Autumn Nations Series" or Autumn Internationals, takes place over roughly three to four weekends in November. The southern-hemisphere nations (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Japan) travel across the oceans to play a series of test matches in Europe.
England traditionally host two to three southern nations every autumn at Twickenham (now known as Allianz Stadium). Scotland host their visitors at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. France welcome their guests at the Stade de France or in other French cities (Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes). Italy host their tests in Rome (Stadio Olimpico) and Genoa or Udine.
The 2026 schedule is particularly special: the Nations Championship (which works alongside the existing Nations Cup format) launches its first cycle, and the autumn tour 2026 will serve as the "knockout phase" of this annual global competition, culminating in the final at Twickenham. The detailed format will be confirmed progressively by World Rugby and the unions.
In 2027, the autumn tour will be reduced or absent, because the Rugby World Cup runs simultaneously in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027. Northern-hemisphere sides will be engaged in the World Cup rather than at home in the autumn. Autumn tests return to their traditional schedule in November 2028.
The 2026 and 2027 international windows (summer and autumn tours) will be published progressively by the national unions and World Rugby. Sign up via the form at the bottom of the page to be notified as soon as the official dates are published.
The summer tour usually runs in June and July, after the European club seasons. The autumn tour takes place in November, over three to four consecutive weekends.
Typically, each of the Home Nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland) plays 2 to 3 tests on the summer tour and hosts 2 to 3 southern-hemisphere nations in November. That works out at 4 to 6 test matches outside of the Six Nations each year (in a non-World Cup year).
No, or at the very least it will be reduced. The 2027 Rugby World Cup runs from 1 October to 13 November 2027 in Australia, so the northern-hemisphere nations will be playing at the World Cup rather than hosting the traditional autumn internationals.
England play at Twickenham (Allianz Stadium) in London. Scotland host their visitors at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh. Wales play at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (sliding roof). Ireland host theirs at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. These are some of the most iconic venues in world rugby and the autumn internationals are a highlight of the UK and Irish sports calendar.