The Nations Championship, a new rugby tournament featuring 12 top teams from both hemispheres, kicks off this weekend. Two pools—north (England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy) and south (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Japan, Argentina)—will see each nation play all six teams in the opposite pool over two stages. Three rounds are played in summer, three in autumn, with a finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Match Details and Broadcast Information
Ireland begin their campaign against Australia. The match kicks off at 11:10am BST on Saturday, July 4, at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. The game is shown live and free on ITV1, with coverage starting at 10:30am. Fans can stream via the ITVX app, requiring a valid TV licence and account.
Team Lineups
Australia: 15 Jock Campbell, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Josh Canham, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell. Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Tom Hooper, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Tom Wright.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jamie Osborne, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (c), 1 Tom O’Toole. Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Bundee Aki.
Match Officials
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR). Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (RFU) and Andrea Piardi (FIR). TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR). FPRO: Glenn Newman (NZR).
