In our final Nations Cup article of this series, TRU identifies the teams that might be best placed to spring a surprise at next year's World Cup and those with work to do before October.

With Portugal and Spain both building towards next year's World Cup, TRU assesses their performances in their recent Nations Cup fixtures.

Three rounds into World Rugby’s brand new Nations Cup - the tier-two competition built as a launchpad towards Rugby World Cup 2027 - the raw data is starting to tell a sharper story than the results table alone.