Current holder: Australia

Australia won the shield from New Zealand, 22–10, on 27 October 2024, and have defended it 7 times since. The most recent defence was 66–6 against the Cook Islands on 31 October 2026. The next defence is against Samoa on 8 November 2026.

See the full match log for 1908–1959 and 1960 to the present (357 matches), and the reign history (121 reigns).

Records by nation

Seven nations have held the shield. Australia have won it and defended it far more often than anyone else. England have held it for longer in total, because of their long reigns before the Second World War, when internationals were rare. Their 1923–36 reign, with 11 defences, is the second-best in the shield’s history.

Nation	Reigns	Defences	Best reign (defences)	Days held	Shield matches
England	15	32	11	14,145	83
Australia	36	139	15	13,867	228
France	13	7	2	4,246	75
New Zealand	27	23	4	4,192	135
Great Britain	20	29	7	3,409	102
Wales	9	6	5	2,585	51
Tonga	1	0	0	966	5

Most defences in a single reign

Holder	Reign	Defences	Days
Australia	6 May 2011 – 25 Oct 2014	15	1,268
England	1 Nov 1923 – 1 Feb 1936	11	4,475
Australia	5 Nov 1999 – 11 Nov 2001	10	737
Australia	12 Nov 1975 – 5 Nov 1978	9	1,089
Australia	3 Jul 1982 – 9 Jul 1983	9	371
Australia	5 Nov 2016 – 13 Oct 2018	9	707
Australia	8 May 2009 – 13 Nov 2010	8	554
Great Britain	6 Nov 1971 – 24 Nov 1973	7	749
Australia	20 Jul 1974 – 1 Nov 1975	7	469
Australia	25 Nov 2006 – 22 Nov 2008	7	728

Longest reigns by time

Holder	Reign	Days	Defences
England	1 Nov 1923 – 1 Feb 1936	4,475	11
England	6 Dec 1911 – 7 Feb 1923	4,081	6
France	16 Apr 1939 – 23 Feb 1946	2,505	0
England	17 Nov 1962 – 7 Nov 1968	2,182	0
Australia	6 May 2011 – 25 Oct 2014	1,268	15
Wales	1 Feb 1936 – 16 Apr 1939	1,170	5
Australia	12 Nov 1975 – 5 Nov 1978	1,089	9
England	16 Sep 1953 – 10 May 1956	967	1
Tonga	2 Nov 2019 – 25 Jun 2022	966	0
Great Britain	20 Dec 1947 – 1 Jul 1950	924	4

Challengers yet to win it

Nation	Shield matches (all lost)
Papua New Guinea	11
Fiji	9
Samoa	5
Ireland	2
Lebanon	2
United States	2
Cook Islands	1
Jamaica	1
Russia	1
South Africa	1