The two best international sides in the Southern and Northern hemisphere are set to go head to head in a new tournament as part of a major reform of international rugby.
The Six Nations and Rugby Championship - which has expanded from its initial Tri Nations format - have long been cemented as the two premier international competitions outside of the World Cup. Autumn International and summer tour windows though, have enabled sides to travel to compete against each other on an annual basis.
But under the new structure, those two windows will now adopt a league format, including two groups of six teams from each hemisphere, with Japan and Fiji added to the traditional 10 sides involved. And it will culminate in a bi-annual final to determine the overall champions.
