This is the Test match that does not need a fancy new format

November 7, 2026 — 9:30amIf ever there was a fixture that doesn’t need to be part of a fancy new competition format to sell itself, it is the Wallabies playing England at the home of rugby.The Test at Twickenham is intrinsically valuable, and the winning players in the early hours of Monday morning (AEDT) won’t be dashing to look up the new Nations Championship table to work out the implications for the tournament. The victory alone will be worth savouring.Australia’s Harry Potter smiles as he races in to score a try during the Wallabies clash with England at Twickenham last year. APBut, that doesn’t mean the 12-team Nations Championship lacks importance or relevance.In fact, its significance to Australia and the other “big” Test-playing nations is becoming clearer, particularly in light of comments made by Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney this week.Sweeney, one of the architects of the new tournament, said the 10 nations that play in the Rugby Championship and Six Nations will create “a commercial rights agency” for their benefit.The move has been characterised as a power grab by the top nations to the detriment of Fiji, Japan and the Pacific island nations, but this simplified argument ignores the true political and commercial currents at play.In short, the so-called big nations have become increasingly frustrated at how the World Cup has become a financial anchor, actually costing them money to take part despite the millions it brings in.Ireland rugby chief executive Kevin Potts is on record as describing it as “a value transfer from the unions to the tournament”, which is, of course, owned by World Rugby.The unions do receive funding from World Rugby, but they argue that it doesn’t make up for the shortfall caused by the reduction of home Tests during World Cup years, or the spike in costs caused by camps and preparations for the tournament held every four years.Hence, the determination among the Rugby Championship and Six Nations teams to make the Nations Championship a success, something that has been reflected in their messaging and selections.The French brought a competitive team when they toured Australia earlier this year.Getty ImagesThe French, to the surprise of many, can’t stop talking about how much a Nations Championship victory would mean to them, despite in previous years showing a limited appetite for Test rugby outside the Six Nations.The squad they took to New Zealand, Australia and Japan in July was also stronger than expected, and they fancy being involved in the Nations Championship final in late November, when the top-ranked northern hemisphere team will face the No.1-ranked Southern Hemisphere XV at Twickenham.But the Springboks have made an even bigger statement by unleashing their top team against Italy this weekend, shattering theories that South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus was going to use the November window for a bit of experimentation.The team he has picked looks fit for a World Cup final, and Erasmus is obviously targeting the bonus points the Springboks might need to stay ahead of the All Blacks on the Southern Hemisphere table.Rassie Erasmus has named a powerful Springboks squad for this month’s Nations Championship.Getty ImagesThis is all good news for Australia, who are among the nations that would most benefit from the Nations Championship turning into a commercial winner.The Rugby Championship and Six Nations teams are far from a bunch of greedy imperialists carving up a resource-rich continent at the costs of others. In fact, the fragility of their own domestic models has been impossible to ignore, with the Welsh revealing a $35 million annual loss two weeks ago.In this context, it is little wonder that they are working hard to bolster their positions – anything less would be illogical.And if anyone thinks the continued resilience of the major unions isn’t critical for the sport as a whole, they only need to look at the Rugby League World Cup.While Samoa and Tonga have rightly been celebrated for adding vibrancy and competitiveness to the tournament, England’s fall from grace is a reminder that any sport with international ambitions needs to be healthy beyond one part of the world map.The dice did appear to be loaded against the English in the tournament, but NRL boss Peter V’Landys’ proposed investment into the Super League is a clear recognition that the code’s long-term interests are not best served by becoming a Pacific-only sport, no matter how well it does in that region alone.Similar motivations are fuelling the Nations Championship unions, with no one believing that rugby does well out of a Welsh collapse or Australia being trapped in a state of perma-struggle.The Nations Championship has yet to fully grab the imagination – the RFU will struggle to sell out the final weekend of fixtures over three consecutive days at Twickenham – but the motivation for doing it is clear.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. 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