The new Nations Championship will begin next year, with the fixtures set to be announced in the coming weeksWales will face South Africa next summer(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Wales will travel to South Africa and Argentina next summer for the inaugural Rugby Nations Championship, with a clash with Fiji set to be played either in one of those two countries or Cardiff.

Fiji recently confirmed that they would ‘host’ England, Scotland and Wales next summer in the first iteration of World Rugby’s new biennial championship – although that came with the caveat that matches wouldn’t actually be played in Fiji. Instead, games in the UK were seen as more lucrative to the Fijian Rugby Union.

As such, a location for a clash between Fiji and Wales is still yet to be decided. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

There has previously been reports that England will face Fiji first up next summer, before taking on South Africa and Argentina.

Those reports added that the Fiji game would either be at Allianz Stadium in London or even France, given the number of French-based players in Fiji’s squad.

It isn’t clear whether Wales would face Fiji in their second or third game yet.

Were the Fiji game their second fixture, a Cardiff-based game in between Tests in South Africa and Argentina seems bizarre – opening the possibility of playing Fiji in one of those two nations.

It’s understood that, on the other side of the tournament, Ireland will take on Japan in Australia as part of their summer fixtures.

An announcement on the Nations Championship fixtures, as well as where Wales will take on Fiji, is expected imminently – with bosses of the governing bodies having met in Sydney during the recent British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

The new Nations Championship will see teams from the Six Nations and Rugby Championship, as well as Japan and Fiji, form the new tournament which will replace traditional touring.

The Six Nations sides will be in a European conference, with the SANZAAR nations, Japan and Fiji in a rest of the world conference.

Throughout July and November, each national side will play each of the six nations in the other conference to determine who will play in a final between the winners of the two conferences.

So, with Wales playing South Africa, Argentina and Fiji in the summer, they will then play New Zealand, Australia and Japan in the autumn.

The 2026 final is set for Twickenham at the end of next November, with the 2028 decider scheduled for Qatar and the United States in 2030.