All Blacks July Tests: Fixtures, kick-off times, referees and where to watch the Nations Championship
All Blacks players in a huddle and new head coach Dave Rennie.
Dave Rennie’s revolution begins next month when the All Blacks begin their Nations Championship campaign with three big fixtures.
The New Zealand head coach, who has replaced Scott Robertson in the position following the Crusaders legend’s sacking in January, will name his first squad later this month for the games against France, Italy and Ireland.
Like last year, where the All Blacks faced Les Bleus in a three-Test series, they open their season with a match against Fabien Galthie’s men. The head coach took a severely understrength squad to the southern hemisphere and the hosts subsequently claimed a 3-0 triumph, albeit the tourists were competitive in Tests two and three.
A week later they face-off with an improving Azzurri, who secured their first-ever victory over England in the Six Nations earlier this year. The All Blacks have won every match between the two with their most recent encounter coming in Turin when the visitors sealed an unconvincing 29-11 success over the Italians.
Rennie’s team then finish with arguably the most intriguing match – given that the French will field a weakened side – when they go head-to-head with Ireland in the third round of the competition. It will be the first time these nations will have clashed in New Zealand since 2022 when the Irishmen claimed a historic 2-1 series triumph. However, the All Blacks have won the three matches with them, two of them coming on neutral soil with the other in Dublin.
All Blacks’ Nations Championship fixtures
New Zealand v France
Date: Saturday, 4 July, 2026
Venue: One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:10 (local), 08:10 (UK), 09:10 (France), 09:10 (South Africa), 17:10 (AEST), 19:10 (New Zealand), 04:10 (Argentina), 16:10 (JST), 03:10 (EDT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU), Katsuki Furuse (JRFU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)
New Zealand v Italy
Date: Saturday, 11 July, 2026
Venue: SKY Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 17:10 (local), 06:10 (UK), 07:10 (France), 07:10 (South Africa), 15:10 (AEST), 17:10 (New Zealand), 02:10 (Argentina), 14:10 (JST), 01:10 (EDT)
Referee: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (RA), Luke Pearce (RFU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
FPRO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)
New Zealand v Ireland
Date: Saturday, 18 July, 2026
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:10 (local), 08:10 (UK), 09:10 (France), 09:10 (South Africa), 17:10 (AEST), 19:10 (New Zealand), 04:10 (Argentina), 16:10 (JST), 03:10 (EDT)
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees: Luc Ramos (FFR), Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)