England’s July Tests: Fixtures, global kick-off times, referees and where to watch the Nations Championship
Springboks flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit in action against England and an inset of Steve Borthwick.
England will face the Springboks, Fiji and Argentina in their opening three Test matches of the inaugural Nations Championship.
After a disappointing Six Nations campaign, Steve Borthwick will be eager to repay the RFU’s faith in him after an extensive and prolonged review process, but faces a challenging set of fixtures.
Three tough Tests for Steve Borthwick
And his charges will have to hit the ground sprinting with arguably their fiercest challenge up first as they tackle the back-to-back world champion Springboks at the iconic Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The venue is famous because of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final but remains renowned as one of the most hostile grounds in the game for international matches.
New Zealand referee James Doleman will take charge of the fixture in the City of Gold and will be assisted by Andrew Brace of Ireland and France’s Pierre Brousset.
On 11 July, seven days after the clash in Jo’burg, Borthwick’s men will tackle the Flying Fijians at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool – a match that is being dubbed as a home game for the Pacific Islanders.
The clash will be officiated by Hollie Davidson, who will become the first Scottish official to referee 50 Tests, becoming the third female – and 19th official in history – to reach the milestone. She will be assisted by Ireland’s Eoghan Cross and Scotland’s Sam Grove-White (SRU)
The first leg of England’s Nations Championship will conclude in South America on 18 July when they tackle Argentina at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero. That match will be refereed by Australia’s Angus Gardner with Georgia’s Nika Amashukeli and New Zealand’s Paul Williams assisting.
All of England’s Nations Championship matches will be broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
England’s Nations Championship July Fixtures
South Africa v England
Date: Saturday, 4 July, 2026
Venue: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:40 (local), 16:40 (UK), 17:40 (France), 17:40 (South Africa), 01:40 (5 July, AEST), 03:40 (5 July, New Zealand), 12:40 (Argentina), 00:40 (5 July, JST), 11:40 (EDT)
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
FPRO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
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)
Fiji v England
Date: Saturday, 11 July, 2026
Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, England
Kick-off: 14:10 (local), 14:10 (UK), 15:10 (France), 15:10 (South Africa), 23:10 (AEST), 01:10 (12 July, New Zealand), 10:10 (Argentina), 22:10 (JST), 09:10 (EDT)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Eoghan Cross (IRFU), Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
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)
Argentina v England
Date: Saturday, 18 July, 2026
Venue: Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero
Kick-off: 16:10 (local), 20:10 (UK), 21:10 (France), 21:10 (South Africa), 05:10 (19 July, AEST), 07:10 (19 July, New Zealand), 16:10 (Argentina), 04:10 (19 July, JST), 15:10 (EDT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
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)
READ MORE: Jeremy Guscott ‘at a loss’ over England snub and compares Springbok to Martin Johnson