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Eddie Jones (Getty Images)
Six nations rugby chiefs unveiled the eight teams on Thursday Fall Nations Cup, which replaces the traditional international testing window during the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament, which involves Six nations sides as well as Georgia and Fiji, will take place over four weekends between November 13 and December 6.
In the weeks leading up to the announcement, there was much speculation that the Springboks would play in the tournament instead of Japan, one of the original teams but who had withdrawn from the tournament.
The teams will be divided into two groups of four. Group A will include England, Ireland, Wales and Georgia, while Group B will consist of France, Scotland, Italy and Fiji.
Georgia replaced Japan, which chose not to participate in the tournament, which will begin two weeks after the conclusion of the Six Nations affected by the virus.
The action begins on November 13, when Ireland host Wales in Dublin.
The other opening games will see Italy play Scotland and England host Georgia the next day, with France taking on Fiji on November 15.
The Nations Cup will conclude on the weekend of December 5-6 with a special final round of matches.
Based on the group rankings reaching the final weekend, each team will face the team ranked in the same position in the opposite group.
England, Scotland and Ireland will play their home games, but the venues for the home games in Wales, France and Italy have yet to be decided.
The presence of fans remains uncertain due to Covid-19 regulations.
“A significant amount of time and effort has been invested in delivering this new tournament format under testing circumstances and the spirit of collaboration between key stakeholders has been outstanding,” said Ben Morel, CEO of Six Nations Rugby.
“While the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic made the traditional fall testing window unfeasible, we remain determined to deliver a unique and compelling tournament proposal that would ensure world-class rugby for our fans.”
England coach Eddie Jones said: “We have a new competition format this fall and we expect four quality tests, which will be a good challenge for us.”
Wales coach Wayne Pivac said international rugby had been “greatly missed”.
Ireland host Italy in Dublin at the Six Nations on October 24 before the three games of the fifth round take place the following Saturday to decide the winners of the title.
England leads the Six Nations standings with 13 points, ahead of France in points difference.
